The rise of the gig economy in India has fundamentally altered the traditional employer-employee relationship. Gig workers—individuals who take up temporary, task-based jobs typically facilitated by digital platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, Ola, and Urban Company—now form a crucial segment of India’s workforce. Unlike self-employed professionals, gig workers do not own the tools of production, operate without job security or regular income, and are subject to algorithmic governance based on acceptance rates, ratings, and punctuality metrics.
According to the NITI Aayog Report (2022), India had approximately 7.7 million gig workers in FY 2020–21. This number is expected to grow to 23.5 million by 2029–30—accounting for nearly 4.1% of the total workforce. Skill distribution is roughly divided as 31% low-skilled, 47% medium-skilled, and 22% high-skilled. Recent estimates indicate over 15 million gig workers in 2024 alone, with sectors like food delivery, ride-hailing, and logistics seeing exponential growth.
However, the sector’s meteoric rise has not translated into proportionate legal or social protection for workers. Gig workers are statistically invisible in major surveys like the Periodic Labour Force Survey, making evidence-based policymaking difficult. Most gig workers lack minimum wages, paid leave, and accident insurance. Daily earnings are often unpredictable, with deductions for cancellations, delays, or non-compliance with algorithmic expectations. For instance, many delivery workers earn as little as ₹100–150 per day after platform commissions and penalties.
The situation is particularly precarious for women, who form about 28% of the gig workforce in India. Despite being a growing segment, women gig workers face unsafe working conditions, harassment, and lower earnings. They are also disproportionately represented in low-paying roles like housekeeping and beauty services, with limited flexibility or recourse for grievances.
The Code on Social Security, 2020 marks a turning point in the recognition of gig and platform workers. For the first time, Indian legislation has acknowledged this category of workers and extended conditional entitlements to social security schemes. While this is a significant step, there are major limitations. Registration on government platforms like e-Shram is required for availing benefits. Moreover, platform companies are not legally mandated to contribute to social security, unlike traditional employers under the Employees’ Provident Fund or ESI Acts. The absence of an enforcement mechanism further undermines the practical impact of the Code.
Organisations like the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), All India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU), and Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU) have played a pivotal role in advocating for better rights. IFAT, with over 1.5 lakh members, has called for mandatory fare floors, social security boards, and regulation of unfair deactivations. In 2023, GIPSWU led a notable digital strike around Deepavali, pressing for improved pay, safety, and redressal systems—especially for women gig workers.
At the state level, Rajasthan became the first in India to legislate specifically for gig workers, passing the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023. It mandates registration of all gig workers and platforms and establishes a welfare board with provisions for social protection. While this is a promising development, its impact will depend on implementation, funding, and inter-state cooperation.
The core challenges remain unaddressed: lack of a uniform national policy, absence of collective bargaining rights, and limited grievance redressal forums. Moreover, algorithmic management tools deployed by platforms continue to dictate work conditions, often without transparency or recourse for workers. Ratings, response time, and complaint history all influence a worker’s earning potential—creating a system where machines, not humans, govern employment outcomes.
Going forward, policymakers must focus on four key areas: improving the statistical visibility of gig workers through dedicated labour force surveys; mandating contributory mechanisms from platform companies; strengthening grievance redressal systems; and supporting collective bargaining through legally recognised unions. Furthermore, the design of future regulatory frameworks must incorporate transparency in algorithmic management and extend legal safeguards such as accident insurance, maternity benefits, and pension rights.
India’s gig economy represents a dynamic yet vulnerable workforce. While the current policy framework acknowledges their presence, meaningful reform will require a deeper recalibration of labour laws, social protection schemes, and digital governance. The question is no longer whether gig work is here to stay—but whether the State will choose to support this workforce with dignity, equity, and legal certainty.