Economic Survey 2026: E-commerce fuels India’s gig boom, workforce hits 1.2 crore

India’s platform economy is rapidly reshaping employment, with e-commerce emerging as the single largest employer within the country’s expanding gig workforce, according to the Economic Survey 2025–26.

The Survey estimates that India’s gig workforce surged 55% from 77 lakh in FY21 to 1.2 crore in FY25, now accounting for over 2% of the total workforce. Non-agricultural gig roles are projected to rise further to 6.7% of the workforce by FY30, contributing Rs 2.35 lakh crore to GDP, underscoring the sector’s growing macroeconomic relevance. 

E-commerce and allied delivery platforms dominate this expansion, followed by logistics, BFSI, manufacturing and retail. The Survey links this structural shift to deepening smartphone penetration, now exceeding 80 crore users, and the scale-up of India’s digital payments stack, with platforms riding on roughly 15 billion UPI transactions every month to enable instant settlements and real-time work allocation.

Beyond employment creation, the Survey notes that digital platforms are formalising large parts of previously informal work by integrating workers into ecosystem-based roles. Flexible hours and task-based income models have made gig work attractive.

However, the Survey also flags vulnerabilities. Nearly 40% of gig workers earn below Rs 15,000 a month, while income volatility, limited access to formal credit and “thin-file” financial profiles remain challenges. Algorithm-driven work allocation and performance monitoring are raising concerns around burnout and opaque wage setting.  
 
The Survey calls for a balanced approach, leveraging e-commerce-led gig growth for job creation while strengthening skilling, credit access and social security frameworks.