In India’s rapidly evolving job market, the gig economy is no longer a fringe phenomenon. Government estimates suggest that by 2028, nearly 21 million Indians will be part of the gig workforce. That’s about four out of 100 working individuals.
These workers—once seen as the logistical backbone of startups—are now central to how cities function. From delivering food and ferrying passengers to fixing appliances and offering beauty services—in as less as 10 minutes—they form the invisible infrastructure of convenience.
With platforms like Urban Company, Zomato, Swiggy, Porter and others, what was once an informal and unregulated economy is gradually being formalised. Quick commerce, for instance, has already created over 450,000 jobs in a few years, and it’s continuing to expand rapidly, according to Vahan.ai, a recruitment platform for blue-collar workers.
Digital payments, standardised pricing and performance tracking have enabled gig workers to access financial services and build stable livelihoods. According to the government’s policy think tank Niti Aayog’s 2022 policy brief titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’, gig economy has the potential to contribute up to $455 billion to the country’s GDP by 2030, driven largely by platform-based labour.
Clearly, it is no longer a stopgap for many, but a viable, long-term career path. And while the numbers paint a picture of expansive growth, behind the promises of flexibility and independence is a complex reality of challenges that must be addressed.
Eternal provides all active delivery partners with health insurance plans, including hospitalisation and day care coverage. The company is also leveraging technology to prioritise safety and support. It offers mandatory road safety training, algorithm-driven delivery assignments that avoid penalising delays, and 24x7 SOS access, including ambulance coordination and emergency assistance in more than 800 cities. Its delivery partner app gives workers real-time visibility about their earnings, allowing them to track income from orders, incentives and tips on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. On average, the monthly earnings for delivery partners onboarded on Zomato/Blinkit, as per CY24—for those who logged in at least eight hours a day for 26 days a month—was approximately ₹28,000.
Apart from what the gig workers earn, Urban Company provides them free life and accidental insurance of ₹10 lakh, health insurance of ₹1 lakh, and additional family coverage for high performers. Initiatives like Project Nidar, which supports women partners facing domestic abuse, and Project Udaan, which helps them gain mobility through scooty ownership and driving lessons, are aimed at empowering these workers. “Happy partners are equal to happy consumers,” says Abhiraj Bhal, co-founder and CEO of Urban Company. He emphasises the company’s belief that professionalism and partner satisfaction go hand-in-hand in building a sustainable gig ecosystem.
The platform publishes a Partner Earnings Index twice a year. According to its FY25 data, the average net monthly income for a service professional is ₹26,407, with top earners making up to ₹50,000. This income is earned with an average of 83 hours of monthly work or roughly 3.5 hours a day.
Similarly, goods transport agency Porter has been instrumental in formalising gig work in logistics. These workers grapple with fluctuating demand, unstable earnings and limited job security. “A deeper challenge lies in the perception of gig work as temporary or lacking dignity, which undermines the value of the contribution these workers make. For drivers, this can mean long idle hours and inconsistent incomes, further reinforcing that perception,” says Uttam Digga, CEO of Porter.
Porter sees close to three lakh monthly active partners. “By combining consistent demand, flexible earning opportunities, and a strong focus on dignity and stability, we’ve helped gig workers increase earnings by up to 30 percent,” says Digga. With this kind of livelihood enablement, the platform’s retention cohorts, particularly for two-wheeler partners, is 1.5x higher than industry benchmarks.
With a tech-enabled model, “we minimise inefficiencies like empty runs… there is boost in productivity through effective route planning, and we offer long-term career support, setting a differentiated benchmark in the logistics gig economy,” adds Digga. Porter uses data-driven allocation models to match gig workers with the most relevant, high-quality earning opportunities. “This while ensuring MSMEs, large enterprise and individuals receive reliable deliveries. Features such as instant payouts, flexible login and multilingual onboarding make the experience accessible,” says Digga.
Suchita Dutta, executive director of the Indian Staffing Federation, says high ambition—common among gig professionals—often clashes with a degree of instability, creating a cycle of stress that outweighs the benefits of flexible work.
The key, according to Priyanka Agarwal Chopra, CEO of IIMA Ventures, lies in establishing an equitable model built on the three pillars of transparency, minimum earning guarantees and social protection. “Platforms should define baseline expectations of work and back this with a floor on earnings, reducing volatility and income insecurity,” she says.
The lack of a regulatory framework that addresses the ambiguity in the gig workers’ legal classification remains a significant hurdle, in some cases, even excluding them from necessary social security benefits. “There needs to be an openness to identifying these workers as ‘dependent contractors’ in some sense and have a set of rules that define terms for access to benefits and minimum payouts while continuing to afford a certain level of flexibility,” Chopra says.
Dutta says such “fragmented frameworks fail to address algorithmic control and data surveillance” and platforms offering gig work often “lack standard safeguards for worker welfare” despite being pivotal in ensuring the same.
In a setup such as this, grievance mechanisms are limited by platform contracts and workers do not have collective bargaining rights, as they are excluded from the Trade Unions Act of 1926.
Chopra adds that startups and platforms should have rigorous in-app support for quick grievance resolutions in addition to regular feedback loops to address any issues raised by gig workers. “For women workers, in particular, dedicated safe channels for redressal are essential, with safeguards for privacy and transparency,” she says.
The way platforms will utilise artificial intelligence (AI) is another crucial factor. While some believe that service delivery jobs like that of drivers and beauticians will not be replaceable, Dutta says AI could “exacerbate informality, inequality and commodification”.
Chopra adds that AI and automation must be worker-centric, designed to augment earnings and safety rather than simply displacing workers. This includes smarter supply-and-demand matching, route optimisation to reduce idle time, and safety alerts.
Ultimately, the future of India’s gig economy hinges on a collaborative effort. India can draw lessons from best practices in Spain, the US, EU and the UK. By learning from international models and implementing a comprehensive, structured regulatory framework, India can ensure that gig work is fair and sustainable.
The Code on Social Security, 2020, marks a pivotal shift in India’s labour policy by formally recognising gig and platform workers as distinct categories eligible for social protection. It lays the foundation for welfare schemes covering life and disability insurance, health benefits, maternity support and old-age protection. A dedicated Social Security Fund—financed by contributions from aggregators and the government—is intended to support these initiatives.
While implementation challenges remain, the Code signals a move toward formalising gig work and ensuring greater dignity, safety and financial security for millions of blue-collar workers.“The intent is there,” says Madhav Krishna, founder and CEO, Vahan.ai. “The new labour codes, especially the one on social security, are positive steps for gig workers. But the rollout has been slow. I’d like to see faster implementation, because these safety nets are critical for millions of workers. At the same time, reforms need to balance protection with viability—if platforms are overburdened, jobs could shrink, which helps no one.”
Going forward, stakeholders feel that gig work will be a mainstream pillar of India’s economy, giving millions flexible ways to earn and participate in growth. “I see the gig economy as sustainable, but not sufficient on its own,” says Krishna. “It offers people a steady income and dignity of work, often as their first step into the formal economy.” According to him, India has over 900 million people of working age, and the population is still growing. To absorb this scale, we will need job creation in manufacturing, services and other large industries alongside gig work.
First Published: Sep 17, 2025, 11:44
Subscribe Now