Overview
- The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Association rebutted Deepinder Goyal’s ₹102-per-hour metric, estimating about ₹81 per hour net after fuel and maintenance and flagging no paid leave, weak social security and rare tipping at roughly 5% of orders.
- Goyal defended the model, saying Blinkit’s 10-minute promise is enabled by dense store networks rather than speed pressure, that riders see no countdown timers, and that Zomato spent over ₹100 crore on partner insurance in 2025 with average EPH at ₹102.
- Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant publicly backed the platforms, projecting gig jobs to grow from 7.7 million to 23.5 million by 2030 and warning that politicising the sector would destroy jobs; he noted more than 75 lakh orders were delivered on December 31.
- On-the-ground riders reported falling per-order payouts—from about ₹50 earlier to near ₹12 in some cases—along with 12–13-hour shifts and indirect pressure through incentives and the risk of temporary ID blocking.
- The Labour Ministry’s draft rules under the Social Security Code propose a 90-day annual work threshold for gig workers to access benefits, keeping the regulatory outcome uncertain.