'Gig jobs to grow to 23.5 mn by 2030': Amitabh Kant makes big prediction, backs Zomato's Deepinder Goyal

Amitabh Kant, former CEO of the NITI Aayog, recently took to social media to back Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal amid the ongoing gig workers' protest against the 10-minute delivery model. Kant wrote on X that India's gig and quick-commerce economy is consumer-led, adding that gig jobs are set to go from 7.7 million at present in India to 23.5 million by 2030. 

"India's gig & quick-commerce economy is consumer-led. Gig jobs are set to grow from 7.7M to 23.5M by 2030 — among India's largest job-creation engines. Calling this 'exploitation' by folks who have not created a single job is political, not factual," Kant, who also served as India's Sherpa to G20, wrote in his post. 

He further said that Zomato and Blinkit delivered more than 75 lakh orders on December 31 alone.

"That demand came from millions of Indians choosing speed, convenience and value. Politicising the gig economy will kill quick commerce, destroy jobs and push workers back into the informal sector (zero rights, zero safety). Raghav Chadha and AAP are not job creators; they are job killers."

Furthermore, he gave the million-dollar advice of allowing the markets to dictate the future of gig work. 

"Deepinder Goyal and Sanjeev Bikhchandani are right: let markets work, strengthen safety nets — don't sabotage innovation for political ends," he said towards the end of his post. 

Amitabh Kant, however, was not the only one to back Deepinder Goyal. Mobikwik CEO Bipin Preet Singh said that gig work not only provides certainty of income but also dignity of work. 

"People who complain about minimum wages for gig works in a metro like Gurugram need to see the dozens of daily wage labourers who are sitting at Sikandarpur metro station every day looking for some work to put food on the table. Gig economy gives them the dignity of work in addition to the certainty of income," Singh said. 

The takes come after Goyal explained in a series of posts how the 10-minute delivery model works, while adding that it does not compromise delivery partners' safety. 

“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,” he wrote in one of the posts. 

He added that delivery partners do not even see the promised delivery on their app to indicate the original time promise to the customer.

He also explained the process, stating, “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 15 kmph.” Goyal also mentioned that the assumption of fast delivery automatically implies risky behaviour. 

“I understand why everybody thinks that 10 minutes must be risking lives, because it is indeed hard to imagine the sheer complexity of the system design which enables quick deliveries,” he said.

In another post, he responded to questions on worker protection. He said that all delivery partners have medical and life insurance. The Zomato founder said, "Nothing happens if they don’t deliver on time. We understand that things go wrong many times.”