India Post pilot helps 5 FPOs double business in Gujarat

The shipment charges are the same as for normal customers, Sawaleshwarkar said, though bulk discounts apply. Delivery fees often appear as zero on the MyStore app because ONDC absorbs the cost as a promotional activity, said Ranmal FPC head Mahesh Karangia.

Karangia's FPO based in Jamnagar has delivered over 30,000 items since joining the initiative in January. He said the turnover reached about ₹4 crore by July, compared with nearly ₹7 crore for the entire previous fiscal year. That is roughly a doubling on an annualized run rate.

The idea came from Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, an additional secretary in the agriculture ministry handling FPOs, Sawaleshwarkar said. Before the pilot, many FPOs used India Post's normal channel but found the delivery charges too high – consumers would abandon purchases when shipping costs appeared in the app.

Sawaleshwarkar said the post office tries to keep dispatch costs low by handling packaging itself. Orders started in the hundreds, he said, then picked up after April. Repeat orders have begun. On one day the system received 5,000 orders, though that is not typical. FPOs are asked to take back unsold inventory and replenish stock when it runs out.

Expansion to more locations will depend on how many FPOs join the MyStore app, Sawaleshwarkar said. ONDC is working to onboard additional farmer collectives.

Karangia said his FPO currently sells peanuts, kabuli chana, green gram, Bengal gram and plans to add moong dal, chana dal and rajma soon.