India has asked quick commerce companies to stop promising grocery deliveries within 10 minutes following mounting concerns over worker safety, but delivery riders and labour advocates say the pressure to rush through congested streets remains unchanged.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s move came earlier this month after gig workers staged a nationwide strike over dangerous working conditions in India\u2019s rapidly expanding instant delivery sector. Officials from the labour ministry warned companies that ultra-fast delivery timelines were encouraging reckless riding and endangering workers\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n
Yet riders say competition among platforms continues to push them to deliver as fast as possible \u2014 whether or not companies formally advertise 10-minute services.<\/p>\n
Just months ago in Noida, near New Delhi, 21-year-old delivery rider Himanshu Pal watched helplessly as his colleague Ankush, an 18-year-old on his first day at work, was fatally struck by a car while rushing to complete a grocery order.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was constantly looking at the phone, the traffic, the customer calling \u2014 trying to reach within 10 minutes,\u201d Pal recalled. \u201cThat was all it took. A car hit him and left him dead at the signal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ankush had travelled more than 1,000 kilometres from his village in Bihar, rented an electric bike, and signed up with Swiggy, one of India\u2019s leading quick commerce platforms. Fellow riders later crowdfunded money to send his body home.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s instant delivery industry \u2014 dominated by Swiggy, Zomato\u2019s Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart Minutes and most recently Amazon\u2019s 15-minute service Tez \u2014 has transformed urban shopping, promising groceries, medicines and essentials in minutes to the country\u2019s expanding middle class.<\/p>\n
But workers and unions say the business model relies on unsafe speed.<\/p>\n
Riders face heavy traffic, damaged roads, extreme heat and toxic air, while pay is tied to the number of deliveries completed and customer ratings. Accidents, they say, are rarely counted as workplace fatalities.<\/p>\n
Despite the government directive, delivery apps in parts of the Delhi region were still displaying estimated delivery times under 10 minutes days later.<\/p>\n
Analysts say removing the slogan is largely cosmetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe promise may be gone, but speed remains the foundation of quick commerce,\u201d said Karan Taurani of Elara Capital. \u201cThe business model hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sector has grown explosively since the COVID-19 pandemic, fuelled by neighbourhood \u201cdark stores\u201d \u2014 small warehouses stocked solely for online orders. Quick commerce recorded $7 billion in gross orders last year, more than double the previous year, and has become one of India\u2019s fastest-growing investment segments.<\/p>\n
At the same time, India\u2019s gig economy is expected to triple from 7.7 million workers in 2021 to 23.5 million by 2030, according to government estimates.<\/p>\n
Experts argue the boom is sustained by deep inequality \u2014 with companies able to keep large pools of low-paid riders waiting for orders near wealthy neighbourhoods, often without social security or minimum wages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Indian middle class is riding on the backs of the poor,\u201d said author Vandana Vasudevan, who studies gig worker lives. \u201cConvenience is coming at the cost of workers\u2019 safety and dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Workers say earnings depend on speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more orders we deliver, the more we earn \u2014 which means riding faster, jumping signals, even driving on the wrong side,\u201d said rider Pankaj Kumar in Noida.<\/p>\n
Kumar fractured his shoulder in an accident last year but returned to work within days to avoid losing incentives. He says no medical support was provided by the platform.<\/p>\n
India is drafting new labour laws that would formally recognise gig workers and provide accident insurance and social security, partly funded by companies. But riders say protections remain largely theoretical.<\/p>\n
Frustration has pushed workers toward collective action. On New Year\u2019s Eve, thousands logged off platforms in coordinated strikes demanding transparent pay algorithms, protection from sudden account deactivations, and the right to organise.<\/p>\n
Union leader Shaik Salauddin said riders faced intimidation and automated firings after protests, but insisted the government\u2019s delivery-time intervention showed their voices were finally being heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a protest for the right to life and dignity,\u201d he said. \u201cIf companies continue cheating workers, we will not stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n
For riders like Pal, the reality remains stark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deliver groceries with our lives on the line every day,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat could anyone possibly need within 10 minutes that\u2019s worth someone dying for?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India has asked quick commerce companies to stop promising grocery deliveries within 10 minutes following mounting concerns over worker safety, but delivery riders and labour advocates say the pressure to rush through congested streets remains unchanged. The government\u2019s move came earlier this month after gig workers staged a nationwide strike over dangerous working conditions in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,26],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-50859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-south-asia","tag-headline"],"yoast_head":"\n