Renu Suresh

Expert

Published on: Jun 24, 2026

Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is working to activate e-commerce in the agriculture domain in partnership with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). As one of the first initiatives to drive Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) enablement in the domain, ONDC and NABARD have come together to host the Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge which aims to establish market linkages for the enabled players with market-ready Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) in the country. It also aims to promote the development of innovative solutions that are likely to aid the adoption of e-commerce in the agriculture domain.

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

ONDC aims to promote interoperability and to create an open, inclusive, and competitive digital commerce marketplace

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is a pioneer organization that aims at building an empowered and financially inclusive rural India through specific goal-oriented initiatives that are financial, developmental, and supervisory. NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge

Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge

Categories of challenges

The Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge Programme constitutes two categories of challenges:

Agri Grant Challenge

Through the Grant challenge, ONDC and NABARD aim to enable existing e-commerce players in the agriculture domain with ONDC protocols and establish market linkages for the enabled players with market-ready Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) in the country

Agri Innovation Hackathon

Through the innovation Hackathon, ONDC and NABARD aim to promote the development of innovative solutions that are likely to aid the adoption of e-commerce in the agriculture domain

Eligible Startups

The following type of startups can apply for the Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge:

Accelerator
Incubator
Individual
Ideation Stage Startup
Validation Stage Startup
Early Traction Startup
Scaling Stage Startup
Corporate

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria to apply for the Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge is as follows:

Agri Grant Challenge

Participation is open for organizations, including startups (ideation, validation, early traction, scaling stage startups), preferably in the Agri e-commerce domain.

Agri Innovation Hackathon

Participation is open for individuals and organizations, including startups (ideation, validation, early traction, scaling stage startups) ONDC reserves the right to update the eligibility criteria as the program progresses to further stages.

Themes for Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge

Agri-tech
Innovation
Ecommerce
Logistics
Financing solutions
Imaging solutions

Relevant Industry

Agriculture
AI
Finance Technology
Food & Beverages
Internet Of Things
IT Services
Transportation & Storage

Problem Statement

The startups will be given two problem statements: One, to integrate existing agri-tech e-commerce players on the ONDC network, and the second, to build innovative solutions that may accelerate the adoption of the network-enabled.

Fiscal Incentives

Depending upon the nature of solutions submitted, participants may be selected for grants/rewards.

Stage 1:

For winners of each problem statement, prizes upto INR 5 lakhs each, and the runners-up will get 3 lakhs each. Total prizes upto INR 64 lakhs

Stage 2:

For the first three participants completing ONDC implementation prizes upto INR 8 lakhs each Total prizes upto INR 24 lakhs

Stage 3:

For the first three participants completing onboarding of at least 5 FPOs onto their ONDC enabled application, prizes upto INR 10 lakhs each Total prizes upto INR 30 lakhs

TimeLine of Lakshya Accelerator Program

Application Opens	8th June 2022
Deadline to Apply	28th June 2022
Application Result Date	12th July 2022

Application Procedure

The Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge will be open upto 28th June 2022. The applicant is required to access the official webpage of Startup India.

From the home page click on the Programs option and then select View all active programs.
By clicking on the Challenges from the new page, the list of active Challenges will be displayed. Click on the Nabard Ondc Grand Challenge, the link will redirect to a new page.
Click on the apply now an option; the Startup India login page will be displayed. The existing users of Startup India can log in to the portal to apply for the program.
New users need to register on the portal to get the user credential. By clicking on the register now option, the applicant can provide all mandatory details for registration.
After login into the portal, the startup can apply for the challenge.

Procedure Post Submission

Grant Challenge participants will constitute existing e-commerce players, preferably from the agriculture domain. ONDC has designed a participant’s journey across 3 stages, each of which will ensure a financial grant/reward for the winning participants. The winners shall be encouraged to leverage the grant in capacity building and operationalization support for the identified FPOs. For a participant, the three stages are as follows:

Stage 1: Onboarding ONDC as a network participant through the ONDC-NABARD Agri hackathon
Stage 2: Completing the build for the ONDC-enabled seller application
Stage 3: Operationalizing ONDC-enabled seller application with FPOs identified by NABARD

Back to Learn

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about NABARD.

The NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge is an initiative by the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to promote the adoption of e-commerce in the agriculture domain. It aims to establish market linkages for ONDC-enabled players with Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) and encourage innovative solutions that can aid e-commerce adoption in agriculture.

The NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge comprises two categories: the Agri Grant Challenge and the Agri Innovation Hackathon. The Grant Challenge aims to enable existing e-commerce players in the agriculture domain with ONDC protocols and establish market linkages with FPOs. The Innovation Hackathon promotes the development of innovative solutions to aid e-commerce adoption in agriculture.

The Agri Grant Challenge is open to organizations, including startups in various stages (ideation, validation, early traction, scaling) preferably in the agri e-commerce domain. The Agri Innovation Hackathon is open to individuals and organizations, including startups across different stages.

The themes for the NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge include agri-tech innovation, e-commerce, logistics, financing solutions, imaging solutions, and relevant industries such as agriculture, AI, finance, technology, food & beverages, Internet of Things, IT services, and transportation & storage.

The startups will be given two problem statements: one to integrate existing agri-tech e-commerce players on the ONDC network, and the second to build innovative solutions that may accelerate the adoption of the network-enabled solutions.

Depending on the nature of the solutions submitted, participants may be selected for grants/rewards across three stages. In Stage 1, winners of each problem statement can win up to INR 5 lakhs, and runners-up can win up to INR 3 lakhs. In Stage 2, the first three participants completing ONDC implementation can win up to INR 8 lakhs each. In Stage 3, the first three participants onboarding at least 5 FPOs onto their ONDC-enabled application can win up to INR 10 lakhs each.

The NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge application opened on June 8, 2022, and the deadline to apply is June 28, 2022. The application result date is July 12, 2022.

Interested participants can apply for the NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge through the official webpage of Startup India. They need to log in or register on the Startup India portal, navigate to the Challenges section, and click on the NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge to apply.

The Grant Challenge participants will constitute existing e-commerce players, preferably from the agriculture domain. ONDC has designed a participant's journey across three stages, each with a financial grant/reward for the winners. The stages involve onboarding ONDC as a network participant, completing the build for the ONDC-enabled seller application, and operationalizing the ONDC-enabled seller application with FPOs identified by NABARD.

The NABARD-ONDC Grand Challenge aims to establish market linkages for ONDC-enabled players with Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) in the country. It also aims to promote the development of innovative solutions that can aid the adoption of e-commerce in the agriculture domain, ultimately supporting the growth of e-commerce and digital transformation in the agricultural sector.