New Delhi, Mar 24 (IANS): Lending major Punjab National Bank (PNB) has acquired a 5.97 per cent stake in Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in the first tranche.

ONDC is an initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote open networks for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services over digital networks.

It was incorporated on December 30, 2021, with an early investment from the Quality Council of India (QCI) and Protean eGov Technologies.

ONDC is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics, and enhance value for consumers for almost all types of businesses.

"In the current platform-centric digital commerce model, buyers and sellers must use the same platform or application to do a business transaction," PNB said in a statement.

"With ONDC's network-centric model, buyers will be able to access all services currently provided by various sellers on different platforms, on a common network, thus making the network interoperable," it added.

In its earlier meeting, the board of PNB had approved investing in ONDC with an equity participation of 9.5 per cent.

"Accordingly, the bank has invested Rs 10 crore for acquiring a 5.97 per cent stake of ONDC in its first tranche, as per the directives of its board," the statement said.