§1How big it is

§2Ways to get started

  • Marketplace seller of a niche product
  • D2C brand built on contract manufacturing
  • ONDC seller via a seller app
  • Cross-border e-commerce export of crafts/foods
  • Quick-commerce private label supplier

See the Business Encyclopedia

§3Hubs and clusters

  • Not cluster-based; sellers are spread across districts (Districts as Export Hubs for e-commerce exports)

§4Licences and registration

  1. GST registration is mandatory for selling via e-commerce operators (limited exemption for small intra-state sellers - check current rule)
  2. Product-specific licences: FSSAI (food), drug licence (medicines - online pharmacy rules), BIS CRS (electronics), cosmetics licence
  3. Legal Metrology declarations on product listings and packages; packer/importer registration
  4. Trademark registration for D2C brand (recommended)
  5. IEC for e-commerce exports; courier/postal export via Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra

§5Regulators

  • DPIIT (FDI policy for e-commerce, ONDC)
  • Department of Consumer Affairs - Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020, Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules
  • CCPA (dark patterns guidelines 2023)
  • GST (TCS by e-commerce operators)
  • FSSAI (food sold online)

§6Government help

  • ONDC and MSME-TEAM (Trade Enablement and Marketing) initiative
  • Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for selling to government
  • E-commerce export hubs (announced by Commerce Ministry)
  • Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras (India Post export facilitation)
  • Districts as Export Hubs
  • Cross-sector schemes that also apply (detailed in the programmes file): Udyam benefits, PMEGP, PM Mudra Yojana, CGTMSE credit guarantee, Stand-Up India, MSE-CDP (cluster development), RAMP, MSME ZED and Lean certification, MSME Champions, TReDS, Startup India (SISFS seed fund, Fund of Funds, CGSS), RoDTEP, EPCG, Advance Authorisation, Districts as Export Hubs, ODOP (One District One Product)

All schemes

§7For exports

  • FIEO (general)
  • Product-specific EPCs

§8Pros and cons

Merits

  • Very low setup cost; nationwide reach from day one
  • ONDC aims to lower customer acquisition and transaction cost for sellers [PIB Jan 2025]

Demerits

  • Marketplace commissions, ad spend and returns eat margins
  • Product-specific licences still apply (FSSAI, BIS, drug)
  • No official market-size figure found - forecasts are mostly private estimates

Sources

  1. PIB backgrounder (Ministry of Commerce): Revolutionizing Digital Commerce - The ONDC Initiative (4 Jan 2025)