DPIIT, ONDC Push FMCG Digitisation for 1.4 Crore Kirana Stores

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in collaboration with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), held a roundtable on June 12, 2026, to discuss digitisation in India's general trade sector. The event, called Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir, brought together leaders from FMCG companies, distributors, technology providers, and logistics firms to address challenges in the sector and explore solutions.

India’s general trade ecosystem, which includes over 1.4 crore kirana stores, accounts for 75-80% of FMCG sales. Despite its significance, the sector faces inefficiencies due to fragmented ordering systems, manual processes, and limited inventory visibility. The discussions focused on DigiDukaan, an ONDC initiative aimed at digitising kirana stores for B2B procurement, enhancing margins, inventory management, and scheme visibility.

DigiDukaan has already shown promise in Hyderabad, where over 10,000 retailers and 35 brands have been onboarded. The initiative is set to expand to Jaipur on June 19, followed by launches in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi-NCR. Stakeholders discussed how digital infrastructure could improve distributor productivity, retailer access, and demand planning.

The roundtable, chaired by DPIIT Additional Secretary Ateesh Kumar Singh, included participation from major FMCG players like HUL, ITC, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and others. Companies were invited to collaborate as founding partners for DigiDukaan’s next phase. The initiative aims to modernise India’s general trade sector and address rising competition from digital-first retail models.

Participants shared recommendations on retailer onboarding, catalogue standardisation, and technology integration, highlighting the potential for transformative change in the FMCG value chain.