Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private banks, is preparing to launch a new consumer-facing buyer platform built on India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) framework, as it looks to strengthen its e-commerce’s foray into government requires deeper penetration of the open web, known as the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) of digital commerce.

Axis has designed the platform and will launch it as part of its Grab Deals e-commerce arm, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol. The platform will initially only offer groceries but will expand to other areas soon, the people said. According to people familiar with the matter, the platform will go live soon and be rolled out in some cities.

“Grab Deals has been part of Axis for some time, and as part of this new project, the company is revamping the entire Grab Deals platform. While there is no separate Grab Deals app yet, Axis will launch it soon,” one of the people quoted above.

“ONDC for groceries will remain integrated even after Grab Deals goes live on the app store, and in the future, the company may also launch a separate app for the ONDC platform,” the person added.

Weeks after PhonePe, India’s most valuable fintech startup backed by Walmart, launched a new app called Pincode and focused on hyperlocal commerce, Axis Bank is launching a hyperlocal app for new buyers on the ONDC platform. Axis Bank is also a shareholder in ONDC with a roughly 8% stake.

In addition to PhonePe, fintech unicorn Paytm currently integrates an ONDC platform in its main application. ONDC is an initiative of the Department of Industry and Domestic Trade Promotion (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce.

The rollout of ONDC started with a limited crypto in Bengaluru last September. Apart from Paytm and PhonePe, IDFC, Mystore, Craftsvilla, and Spice Money are all buy-side apps so far.

The platform does not take money from the government. Nonetheless, it is financed by banks such as State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank.

In March, ONDC expanded into mobile beyond food, grocery and e-commerce as the network added Namma Yatri to the platform. While two cities are in the testing phase of ONDC, 181 cities are in the testing phase.

Earlier this month, ONDC CEO T Koshy said at a press conference in New Delhi that the platform had found 37 network participants. The platform currently works with over 26,000 merchants on its network, offering over 27 lakh products.