**India Takes a Step in the Right Direction: Labor Ministry Tells Quick-Commerce Firms to Prioritize Worker Welfare**
In a major development, India’s labor ministry has asked quick-commerce companies to put the wellbeing and safety of their gig workers first, over speedy deliveries. The news comes as a welcome relief for the hundreds of thousands of supply personnel who have been shouldering the burden of delivering goods in record time.
According to reports, Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met with top executives from popular quick-commerce companies like Zomato’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zepto to discuss the working conditions of their supply staff. The meeting was prompted by a series of protests by gig workers, who demanded better wages, social security benefits, and an end to punitive penalty systems that reduced their scores for late deliveries.
The protests, which were staged by over 200,000 gig workers across major Indian cities, marked a turning point in the struggles of workers in India’s rapidly growing gig economy. The labor ministry’s decision is a significant step towards recognizing the rights of these workers, who have been left out of the formal labor market.
The quick-commerce sector has been growing at breakneck speed, with companies pouring billions into establishing “dark shops” and hiring armies of workers. However, the pressure to deliver has been mounting, and workers have been bearing the brunt of it. The fact that Blinkit has already removed its promise of 10-minute deliveries is a testament to the power of worker activism.
This move comes just a month after India granted legal status to millions of gig and platform workers, defining their rights and entitlements under new labor laws. The law requires aggregators to contribute to a government-managed social security fund, a major milestone in the struggle for workers’ rights.
As the gig economy is projected to reach 23.5 million workers by 2029-30, it’s crucial that companies prioritize their workers’ needs and well-being. Will the other quick-commerce firms follow suit? Only time will tell, but for now, it’s a victory for the workers who have been fighting for their rights.
**Source:** [https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/india-reportedly-tells-quick-commerce-firms-to-drop-10-minute-delivery-promise/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/india-reportedly-tells-quick-commerce-firms-to-drop-10-minute-delivery-promise/)
