ONDC independent director Arvind Gupta steps down

Open Network for Digital Commerce’s independent director Arvind Gupta has stepped down from the post, becoming the latest top-level executive to depart the government-backed e-commerce network.

Gupta’s departure last month follows the exits of senior executives like Managing Director and Chief Executive Thampy Koshy, Non-Executive Chairperson R.S. Sharma, and Chief Business Officer Shireesh Joshi.

ONDC is governed by a board of directors and an advisory council. The board includes founding members, shareholders, government nominees, and independent directors.

"I was a founding member of ONDC and the first independent director. I completed my three-year term as an independent director and decided not to continue further," said Arvind Gupta, head and co-founder of the Digital India Foundation.

Gupta's departure leaves ONDC with three independent directors—Adil Zainulbhai, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission; Anjali Bansal, Founder and Chairperson of Avaana Capital; and Ritesh Tiwari, Executive Director of Finance & IT and Chief Financial Officer of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

In April, the network recorded 4.34 million retail orders, which came down by 6.2% to 4.07 million in May. Similarly, orders for on-network logistics declined to 2.32 million in May from 2.41 million in April.