Microsoft joins India's ONDC WHAT HAS HAPPENED? US firm Microsoft has become the first big tech company to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), A government-backed project which is aimed at enabling small merchants and mom-and-pop stores in parts of the country to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. The software giant intends to introduce social e-commerce - group buying experience in the Indian market, Which would include a shopping app for Indian consumers along with their social circle, harnessing the ONDC network to discover the best pricing among retailers and sellers. WHAT IS OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERECE ? It is an initiative aimed at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks. ONDC is to be based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols inde...
Pakistan, China invite any 3 rd country to join CPEC WHAT HAS HAPPENED ? China and Pakistan have extended invite to “any third country” willing to be part of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by making investment. CPEC, a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is a combination of transport and energy projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan beginning in 2013. Originally valued at $47 billion, the value of CPEC projects is worth $62 billion as of 2020, according to BBC. The plan will largely centre on an economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. India has repeatedly registered its protests over the project, saying that it is in violation of its sovereignty as it passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. BUT WHY 3RD COUNTRY ? As the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) runs into...