Gig Economy In India

Turnover-linked levy could be fairer for gig workers than payouts

As India moves to operationalise social security contributions for gig and platform workers, a seemingly technical design choice could carry outsized consequences for different segments of the platform economy: whether aggregators should contribute based on annual turnover or on a percentage of individual worker payouts. A contribution mechanism for gig-worker social security that is linked to individual transactions rather than an aggregator's turnover could create a sharply uneven financial burden across the platform economy, hitting businesses built on high transaction volumes but low-ticket sizes especially hard, analysts and industry sources said. The Code on Social Security, 2020 requires aggregators to contribute to a Social Security Fund for gig and platform workers. Under the rules, a gig worker becomes eligible for benefits after 90 days of engagement with a single aggregator, or 120 days across multiple aggregators, in a financial year. Aggregators are required to assess .

100,000 daily instant househelp orders: How much are workers earning?

The instant househelp sector is growing at breakneck speed. Here's a closer look at worker payouts and monthly incomes

Karnataka Gig Workers Act: What the law says and why it's contested

The Act promises greater social security for app-based workers, but delivery platforms have challenged it in court. Here's what the law does and why it is being challenged

Fuel price hike: Gig workers' union calls 5-hour nationwide strike today

Drivers and delivery partners linked to ride-hailing, food delivery, and quick commerce platforms will suspend services from 12 pm to 5 pm over demands for higher payouts and fuel-linked compensation

Riding the Bharat wave: Govt-backed taxi app bets on cooperative muscle

In a written reply to Parliament, Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah said that Bharat Taxi is facing early challenges, including competition from existing players

Temperatures on the rise, online platforms offer relief to gig workers

E-commerce and food delivery firms step up cooling infrastructure, insurance cover and welfare measures for gig workers as rising temperatures and heatwave warnings intensify across India

E-commerce firms shift hiring to engineering, AI as demand rises 35%

E-commerce and quick-commerce firms are prioritising engineering, AI and operations talent, shifting away from expansion-led hiring to build resilience, fulfilment precision and digital capability

Govt weighs making National Pension System mandatory for gig workers

Government weighs mandatory NPS coverage for gig and unorganised workers, explores auto-enrolment and digital onboarding to widen pension net and boost long-term retirement security

Gig hiring likely to surge in 2026 as qcom, ecom expand beyond metros

E-commerce and quick commerce platforms are set to add nearly a million gig workers in 2026, driven by last-mile delivery demand and rapid expansion of dark stores in non-metro cities

Eco Survey: Need for a policy to enable stable, better pay for gig workers

The Economic Survey calls for State support to raise gig workers' pay, curb platform dominance, and ensure stable incomes, with 40% earning under ₹15,000 a month

StatsGuru: Race against time - the quick-commerce economy never sleeps

As quick-commerce drops the 10-minute promise, India still leads the world in q-commerce firms, even as funding cycles and productivity trends shift

Gig union representatives meet Delhi CM, propose bill for workers

The demands include the formation of a dedicated Gig Workers Board to ensure improved working conditions and social security

Zepto closes gap with Blinkit in quick commerce app installation reach

Zepto has nearly caught up with Blinkit in app penetration by CY25, intensifying the race for leadership in India's fast-growing quick commerce market

Zwigato: The gig worker's life, struggle enters Bollywood spotlight

Deepening inequality makes working-class lives increasingly precarious in India

Centre plans collateral-free microloans for gig and domestic workers

A new scheme will provide loans of up to ₹10,000 to gig workers and domestic helps, modelled on PM-SVANidhi, to support entrepreneurship and small business ventures

Gig workers union welcomes rollback of '10-minute delivery' qcom branding

The Gig Workers Association on Tuesday welcomed the decision by quick commerce platforms to roll back the ten-minute delivery promise, saying the move recognises that extreme delivery timelines put unsafe pressure on delivery workers. In a statement, the association said the ten-minute delivery model forced workers to rush, take risks on the road and work long hours due to constant pressure created by incentives, ratings and order allocation on apps. "However, workers are often paid the same amount for a multi-order delivery as for a single order. In one such case, a worker was paid only Rs 19.30 for delivering two orders together. This increases risk and workload without any additional compensation," it said. The association further said that the creation of a permanent institutional mechanism for collective dialogue between workers, platforms, and the government is a necessity. Adding that such a mechanism is necessary to address concerns in advance, ensure worker safety and ...

Raghav Chadha turns Blinkit delivery partner for a day, posts short video

The video comes weeks after Raghav Chadha raised concerns in Parliament about the working conditions of gig and platform workers

How quick must quick commerce be? Rethinking the 10-minute promise

A hard stop at 10 minutes puts lives at risk even if the distance from the dark store to an apartment is a just a few 100 metres

'No paid leave or social security': Gig union slams Zomato CEO's claims

Union questioned Zomato's earnings calculations and benefits, saying fuel costs, unpaid leave and limited insurance weakened claims of fair pay in the gig economy

Zomato CEO defends gig model, highlights 10.9% pay raise, job flexibility

Goyal explained that Zomato gig workers earn a steady income, get welfare support, have flexible schedules, and are not pressured by 10-minute delivery promises, countering claims of exploitation