Archaeological Survey of India has enabled online ticket booking for more than 170 centrally protected monuments and museums through the Open Network for Digital Commerce, the culture ministry said on Tuesday.
The move allows visitors to buy entry tickets through multiple ONDC-enabled applications, rather than relying on a single platform, in a step the government said would improve convenience and strengthen delivery of public services through interoperable digital systems.
The ministry said online booking would help visitors bypass physical ticketing queues at monuments and museums, aiming to speed up entry at popular sites.
Existing discounts will continue for tickets booked through ONDC-enabled applications, including a Rs 5 discount for Indian visitors and Rs 50 for foreign nationals, it said.
The integration was technically enabled by NDML, also known as NSDL Database Management Ltd, which onboarded ASI’s inventory of monuments and museums onto the ONDC network.
Tickets are currently available through platforms including Highway Delite, Pelocal’s WhatsApp-based booking service and Abhee by Mondee, the ministry said, adding that more consumer-facing applications are in the process of integrating with ONDC.
ONDC is a government-backed open network that uses interoperable standards to connect buyers, sellers and service providers across different applications, similar to how email works across providers.
