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India’s gig economy is no longer just about food delivery riders weaving through traffic. It is now big enough to force state governments to rethink labour laws.
Maharashtra alone has around 5 lakh gig workers operating across roughly 350 platforms. Most of them have no formal social security, no guaranteed minimum wage, no provident fund, no paid leave. Tamil Nadu has already created a welfare board for gig workers. Rajasthan has passed its own law. Karnataka has a draft bill ready. Maharashtra is now under pressure to follow.
According to recent Economic Survey estimates, India’s gig workforce has grown roughly 55% in the past few years. From about 77 lakh workers in FY21, the number has crossed 1.2 crore in FY25.
That means more than 12 million Indians now depend on platform-based or on-demand work for income. In just a few years, gig workers have become over 2% of India’s total workforce.
And this is just the beginning.
Policy projections suggest the number could reach 2.35 crore, by 2029-30. Even if those are upper-bound scenarios, the direction is clear. This is a structural shift.
To understand what is really happening, you have to move beyond the image of a delivery rider with a bright backpack. The gig economy now stretches across shopping, transport, factories, offices and the invisible back-end supply chains that keep India’s consumption machine running.
E-commerce alone employs a massive chunk of gig workers. Estimates suggest that more than 35 lakh workers are engaged in e-commerce-related gig roles, from last-mile delivery to warehouse sorting and packaging. Logistics as a broader segment accounts for around 15 lakh gig workers. Transportation services, including ride-hailing and goods movement, account for roughly 6 lakh more.
Retail has around 7 lakh gig workers. IT and IT-enabled services add another 5 to 6 lakh. Manufacturing support roles account for about 10 lakh. BFSI-related field work and support services add roughly 10 lakh. Even healthcare, education and construction are seeing gig-based hiring in the range of 3 lakh workers each.
In other words, gig work is spreading into almost every sector that touches the consumer economy. It is not just about quick commerce and food apps. It is about how work itself is being reorganised.
Why has this exploded so quickly?
Start with smartphones. India now has over 700 million smartphone users. Add to that cheap data and UPI. Digital payments have normalised instant transactions. Platforms can match demand and supply in real time, track workers through GPS, rate performance through algorithms and pay daily or weekly through bank transfers. The infrastructure for gig work has become frictionless.
Then there is demand. India’s consumption story is getting deeper and more impatient. Quick commerce promises groceries in 10 minutes. Food delivery promises restaurant meals at home. E-commerce has penetrated tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
All of this requires flexible labour that can expand during peak demand and shrink during lean periods. Platforms prefer gig contracts because they reduce fixed costs. Workers enter because barriers to entry are low. You need a phone, maybe a scooter, and some documents.
Demography-wise, India adds millions of young people to its working-age population every year. Formal job creation has not kept pace. For many, gig work is either a primary income source or a stop-gap arrangement. Surveys suggest a significant portion of gig workers are below 35 years of age. It offers flexibility and quick cash flow, even if long-term security is weak.
But here is where the story gets layered.
Income remains one of the biggest concerns. Several studies show that a large share of gig workers earn below ₹15,000 per month. Earnings fluctuate based on demand, incentives and algorithmic changes. If a platform changes its payout structure, the worker has little bargaining power. Ratings determine access to future work. If ratings fall, income can collapse. There is no guaranteed floor in most cases.
Then there is the question of costs. Many delivery and ride-hailing workers bear fuel costs, vehicle maintenance and depreciation. When fuel prices rise, margins shrink. When demand falls, idle time increases. When platforms reduce incentives, take-home pay drops. Unlike salaried jobs, risk is transferred to the worker.
And yet, despite all these issues, the gig economy keeps expanding. Why? Because it solves multiple problems at once. For platforms, it offers cost flexibility. For consumers, it offers convenience and speed. For workers, it offers entry into the labour market without degrees, interviews or long waiting periods. For the economy, it boosts consumption and service delivery capacity.
As digital ecosystems deepen, gig roles are likely to multiply in areas like warehouse automation support, telemedicine coordination, fintech field sales, hyperlocal retail stocking and even micro-entrepreneurship models.
So where does this leave us?
The gig economy in India is no longer a fringe phenomenon. It has crossed 1.2 crore workers. It is projected to nearly double in five years. It touches e-commerce, logistics, retail, BFSI, manufacturing, healthcare and education. It is powered by smartphones, UPI and platform algorithms. It promises flexibility but often delivers instability. It boosts GDP but raises questions about social security.
India’s gig economy story is about how work is being redesigned in a digital, consumption-driven economy. It is about 12 million people navigating algorithms instead of supervisors. It is about states rewriting labour rules in response to app-based platforms. And it is about a country trying to grow fast without leaving its newest workers unprotected.
India’s gig economy has moved from the margins to the mainstream. The next chapter will decide whether it becomes a model of inclusive flexibility or a cautionary tale of growth without security.
