From Payments To E-Commerce: Adani Group Set For Digital Expansion with UPI And ONDC

Ports-to-power conglomerate Adani Group is reportedly planning to apply for a license to operate on UPI, India's public digital payments network.

In addition, the company is in discussions with banks to launch a co-branded credit card, according to a report by Financial Times on Tuesday (28 May).

Adani Group is also exploring the possibility of providing online shopping services through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), India's government-backed public e-commerce platform.

ONDC and UPI are integral components of India's digital infrastructure, known as the digital stack.

If these plans are finalised, Adani could offer its services through Adani One, a platform launched in 2022 that currently offers flight and hotel booking services.

"It’s our collective effort to build a digital twin that will eventually parallel our traditional businesses," wrote Nitin Sethi, senior vice-president and chief digital officer, consumer businesses, at Adani Group, in a LinkedIn post in December 2022.

The year 2023 was challenging for the Adani Group, as it faced allegations of corporate misconduct from Hindenburg Research and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Following the Hindenburg report, the group saw a significant decline in its market value, losing close to $150 billion.

The Adani Group responded to the Hindenburg report by describing it as the work of an "unethical short seller" and dismissed the allegations as false. Short sellers profit from the decline in stock prices.

Recently, the Financial Times, citing OCCRP documents, accused the Adani Group of fraud and selling low-grade coal as high-value fuel in 2013 to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company.

The Adani Group has consistently denied all allegations against it.

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