The remarks come at a time when gig workers’ unions have been staging protests, demanding better payouts and improved working conditions.
Goyal also defended 10-minute deliveries, explaining that they are enabled by the density of stores around a user’s home and not by “asking delivery partners to drive fast”.
Eternal owns food delivery major Zomato and quick commerce firm Blinkit.
The Gig & Platform Services Workers’ Union (GIPSWU) last month wrote to Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya raising several issues, with a key highlight being their demand to “urgently discontinue 10-20-minute service delivery mandates to prioritise worker safety”.
In November, the government notified all four labour codes, ushering in major reforms, including universal social security coverage for gig workers.
The Eternal Founder took to X to share multiple posts on the debate surrounding the country’s gig workforce, a day after their unions went on strike on New Year’s Eve, with the agitation having a negligible impact on operations of food delivery and quick commerce firms.
“I repeat — gig work is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages.
“Gig doesn’t need more regulation, it needs less regulation. It will bring more people into the fold, who will be able to earn some money, upskill themselves and later join India’s organised workforce. Not to mention, consistently send their kids to school, which will fundamentally change the fabric of our nation one generation later,” Goyal stated.
In a separate post, the Eternal Founder explained how companies fulfil the 10-minute delivery promise.
“Our 10-minute delivery promise is enabled by the density of stores around your homes. It’s not enabled by asking delivery partners to drive fast. Delivery partners don’t even have a timer on their app to indicate what was the original time promised to the customer.
“After you place your order on Blinkit, it is picked and packed within 2.5 minutes. And then the rider drives an average of under 2 km in about 8 minutes. That’s an average of 15kmph,” Goyal said.
According to estimates, there are over 12.7 million gig workers in India, with government think tank NITI Aayog saying the gig workforce is expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30.
India’s gig and platform economy has grown rapidly over the past decade, emerging as a significant source of flexible employment for millions of workers across food delivery, ride-hailing, logistics and home services. Platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Uber and Rapido have helped formalise access to work through digital systems for onboarding, payments and service delivery, even as most gig workers continue to operate outside traditional employer–employee relationships.
The government has been attempting to strike a balance between worker welfare and platform flexibility. The notification of the new labour codes, including provisions for social security for gig and platform workers, reflects growing recognition of the sector’s scale and economic role. At the same time, there remains debate over issues such as minimum earnings, safety standards, algorithmic transparency and the extent of regulatory oversight.
(With inputs from PTI)
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