Category: Open Networks
-
Discovery by Design: ONDC and the Future of Being Found
What does discovery mean in an open network? This blog unpacks how ONDC enables buyers and sellers to find each other—across apps, without relying on central platforms. It explores how registries, gateways, and decentralized buyer and seller apps (nodes) work together to make discovery interoperable, inclusive, and infrastructure-led.
-
Digital by Design: Building Canada’s Competitive Edge
In a world of trade uncertainty and digital dependence, Canada must rethink how its businesses connect and compete. This post explores how open networks and digital public infrastructure can strengthen SMEs, boost resilience, and build a more discoverable, scalable Canadian economy.
-
Open Networks: Europe’s Path to Digital Sovereignty
In an increasingly connected yet fragmented world, Europe is at a crossroads. As global digital platforms consolidate control over data, services, and markets, questions of autonomy, resilience, and inclusion are coming to the fore. To address these challenges, Europe must move beyond reactive regulation or isolated investments. It needs a fresh approach to digital infrastructure—one…
-
EuroStack: Why Europe’s Digital Stack Needs a Commons Mindset
This post builds on Part 1 of our series on Europe’s digital future, where we explored why open networks are essential to digital sovereignty, resilience, and fair markets. In this follow-up we examine how Europe’s current digital infrastructure measures up—and what it would take to transform it into a coherent, commons-governed system. In recent years, “digital sovereignty” has moved…
-
From Extractive Platforms to Inclusive Networks
in ONDCWhy the Future of Digital Belongs to Everyone While reading about how different systems shape the long-term prosperity of nations and the livelihoods of their people, I came across a powerful idea: The nature of the systems we build—whether inclusive or extractive—determines who benefits from growth and innovation. It’s not just about policy or economic…
-
Architecting Soft Power: India’s DPI Story
For much of the 20th century, soft power came from cultural exports—cinema, literature, universities, diplomacy. In the 21st, a new dimension has emerged: digital infrastructure. Today, India’s rising global stature isn’t just about economics (5th largest economy in the world) or geopolitics (a regional counterweight to China, a key voice in forums like the G20…
-
Open Networks: Designing for Openness
We often treat “open” as a virtue and “closed” as a flaw. But in digital systems, openness is rarely all or nothing. It’s a spectrum—a set of design choices shaped by context, not ideology. Terms like “open-source”, “open access”, or “open networks” are often used for systems that are collaborative, inclusive, and innovative. But a…
-
Green Shoots of Open Networks
Seeding a More Inclusive Digital Future A quiet revolution is underway. Across continents and sectors, a new model for digital infrastructure is beginning to take root. It’s not driven by mega platforms or proprietary ecosystems, but by open networks — decentralized, interoperable systems built on the principles of inclusion, transparency, and participation. These early efforts…
-
Why Open Networks Are Strategic Infrastructure in a Fractured World
We often speak of open networks as the future of digital transformation. But that framing may no longer be enough. Today, they must be understood as something more urgent: infrastructure for survival, resilience, and sovereignty in a world that is anything but stable. We are in a moment defined not by disruption, but by dislocation…
-
ONDC’s Retail Traction Is Slowing – What Needs Rethinking
In recent weeks, ONDC has faced growing scrutiny. ONDC’s own data reveal a notable slowdown in retail traction. At the same time, a consumer survey by LocalCircles highlights persistent concerns around user experience and customer support. While these challenges are real, they are not unexpected in a bold, system-wide transformation like ONDC. As someone who…
SANDEEP MAHAJAN 