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...
Recession begins in USA Impact on India WHAT HAS HAPPENED? The US economy shrank for a second straight quarter, raising chances of a recession, As decades-high inflation undercut consumer spending and Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes stymied business investment and housing demand. Gross domestic product fell at a 0.9% annualized rate after a 1.6% decline in the first three months of the year. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.4% advance in GDP and a 1.2% rise in consumer spending. The report is likely to add to political headaches for President Joe Biden and complicate the Federal Reserve's calculus over how aggressively to raise interest rates. In addition to the slowdown in household spending, the report also showed declines in business investment, government outlays and housing. INFLATION In its continuing bid to cool down raging inflation in the United States - at 9.1% in June, the inflation rate is ...