Contents
Introduction
India’s quick-commerce sector, projected to reach nearly $10 billion by 2026 (RedSeer), epitomises platform capitalism—balancing urban convenience and job creation against rising concerns of worker precarity and algorithm-driven exploitation.
Socio-Economic Necessity of the 10-Minute Delivery Model
- Urban Convenience and Market Demand: The 10-minute delivery model has emerged from intense competition within India’s fast-growing digital consumer economy. Rising urbanisation, dual-income households and time scarcity have created demand for hyper-convenience. From ₹50,000 crore in 2025, quick commerce is expected to touch ₹1–1.5 lakh crore by 2027, growing at nearly 28–30% annually.
- Employment Generation in a Job-Scarce Economy: With nearly 20 million youth entering the workforce annually and formal job creation lagging (PLFS), gig platforms absorb low-skill labour rapidly. NITI Aayog estimates 2.35 crore gig workers by 2029–30, making the sector a de facto employment buffer.
- Productivity vs Artificial Urgency: However, the 10-minute promise is not a technological necessity but a market strategy. Speed is extracted from human labour rather than innovation, imposing a “time-tax” on safety. Empirical studies and worker testimonies reveal higher accident risks due to algorithmic penalties for delays, effectively externalising corporate risk onto riders.
Labour Codes and the Promise of Social Security
- Formal Recognition of Gig Work: The Code on Social Security, 2020 (implemented 2025–26) marks a historic shift by legally defining “gig” and “platform” workers, ending the ambiguity of independent contractor status.
- Welfare Architecture: The Code mandates aggregator contributions (1–2% of turnover) to a social security fund and provides for accident insurance, maternity benefits and pensions. Aadhaar-linked UANs via the e-Shram portal ensure benefit portability across platforms.
- Incremental Institutional Progress: This aligns with global trends such as the EU’s Platform Work Directive and reflects India’s first serious attempt to extend social protection beyond the standard employer-employee model.
Persistent Gaps and Algorithmic Vulnerabilities
- Eligibility and Exclusion: Draft rules requiring 90–120 days of engagement exclude high-churn, migrant workers—the most vulnerable cohort—undermining universality.
- Fragmented Labour Protection: Gig workers remain excluded from the Code on Wages and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. Consequently, minimum wages, regulated hours, paid leave and collective bargaining remain inaccessible.
- Algorithmic Opacity: The Labour Codes are silent on platform algorithms—the true locus of control. Ratings, task allocation, surge pricing and “de-activations” operate as opaque “black boxes,” producing income volatility, psychological stress and unilateral loss of livelihood without due process.
- Weak Enforceability: Most welfare provisions remain enabling rather than justiciable rights, dependent on future notifications and funding, limiting immediate relief.
Way Forward: From Extreme Convenience to Humane Productivity
- Rationalising Delivery Expectations: Shifting industry standards to 20–30-minute windows can improve road safety without materially affecting consumer welfare.
- Algorithmic Accountability: Mandating explainable AI, notice-and-appeal mechanisms for ID blocks, and independent audits can address power asymmetry.
- Integrative Regulation: Best practices from Rajasthan and Karnataka Gig Worker Acts—accident insurance, grievance redressal boards—should be scaled nationally.
- Broader Employment Strategy: Expanding labour-intensive manufacturing and agriculture, as emphasised by NITI Aayog, is essential to reduce over-dependence on precarious platform work.
Conclusion
As Justice K.S. Puttaswamy reminds us, dignity constrains efficiency. Labour Codes are foundational, yet without algorithmic accountability, India’s digital economy risks privileging speed over justice, and convenience over constitutional morality.”
