These findings come at a time when India’s gig economy is under sharp public and regulatory scrutiny, following a backlash against ultra-fast “10-minute delivery” promises by quick-commerce platforms.
In recent months, delivery workers across multiple cities have raised concerns that aggressive time-bound delivery models increase road safety risks, intensify algorithmic pressure and weaken bargaining power for workers. The debate escalated after unions flagged unsafe working conditions and unpredictable incomes, prompting the labour ministry to engage with major platforms and call for a rethink of speed-centric branding, bringing renewed focus on how platform design and incentives shape working conditions for gig workers.
The Survey also underlined the precarious income levels in the sector.
“About 40 percent of gig workers report earnings below Rs15,000 per month,” it said, raising concerns about job quality even as gig platforms expand across sectors such as ecommerce, logistics, transportation, BFSI and IT services.
Platform-driven work arrangements add another layer of stress. “Platform algorithms control work allocation, performance monitoring, wages and supply-demand matching,” the Survey stated, warning that this has raised concerns over “algorithmic biases and burnout”.
Beyond earnings, there are concerns over job displacement. “Limited skilling and fears of job losses due to technological advances such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) add to worker vulnerability,” it noted.
According to Niti Aayog, high-skilled gig workers could account for 27.5 percent of the workforce by 2030, while low-skilled workers could make up 33.8 percent. Policy should aim to ensure that gig work becomes “a choice rather than a necessity” by helping workers move into better-paying and more secure categories of work.
The Economic Survey highlighted that India’s new labour framework has begun to formally acknowledge this workforce. “The Labour Codes have formally recognised gig and platform workers, expanding social security, welfare funds and benefit portability,” it said. Under the Code on Social Security (CSS), a gig worker is defined as “a person who participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship”.
However, it also cautioned that while recognition is a step forward, gig workers “lack employment benefits such as social security, paid leave, minimum hours and health coverage, resulting in poor job security and lower incomes” when classified as freelancers or independent contractors.
It is important to look at global regulations, such as Spain’s ‘rider law’, which recognised food delivery workers as employees, and the EU Platform Workers’ Directive (2024), which aims to correct misclassification and regulate algorithmic decision-making. It noted that cities such as Seattle and New York have already implemented protections such as minimum wages, deactivation appeals and anti-retaliation measures for app-based workers.
The Survey argued that strengthening social security coverage, including provident fund, insurance and maternity benefits, is “essential” as the gig economy expands. It also called for “algorithmic transparency and promoting worker-friendly practices”, while reshaping the social contract so “gig work benefits workers more fairly”.
“The goal of gig economy policy should be to reshape the terms so that workers exercise real choice rather than being pushed into gigs due to weak demand, skill mismatch or the absence of a safety net,” the Survey stated.
