After gig workers’ strike, Deepinder Goyal breaks silence on 10-min delivery, safety of platform work | SME Futures
In the aftermath of the gig-workers’ strike that brought renewed scrutiny on quick commerce and food delivery platforms, Zomato and Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal has laid out how the system behind 10-minute deliveries actually works — and why, according to him, it does not compromise rider safety or worker dignity.
Responding to growing criticism on social media, Goyal said the 10-minute promise on Blinkit is a result of store density and system design, not speed on the road.
“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 said, explaining that once a customer places an order, it is picked and packed within about 2.5 minutes, while the delivery partner typically travels under 2 km in around eight minutes — translating to an average speed of just 15–16 km per hour.
He added that delivery partners do not even see the customer-facing delivery timer on their app, removing any incentive to rush. “There is no 10-minute countdown on the rider’s app,” he clarified.
Debunking “dangerous deliveries” narrative
A key allegation during the strike was that ultra-fast deliveries push riders into unsafe driving. Goyal rejected this, backing his argument with platform data.
On Blinkit, the average delivery distance in 2025 was 2.03 km, with an average driving time of eight minutes. On Zomato, where delivery times are longer, the average driving speed was around 21 km per hour.
“The difference between 10-minute and 30-minute deliveries is not speed — it’s proximity of stores to customers,” he said, stressing that road safety depends on multiple stakeholders including infrastructure, enforcement, customers and riders, not just platforms.
Are gig workers being overworked?
Goyal also addressed another major grievance raised during the protests, that gig workers are overworked and treated like full-time employees without benefits.
According to Zomato’s internal data, in 2025 the average delivery partner worked only 38 days in the year and about seven hours per working day. Just 2.3% of partners worked more than 250 days, indicating that most riders use the platform as flexible, secondary income, not a full-time job.
“Demanding full-time benefits like PF or guaranteed salaries for gig roles doesn’t align with what the model is built for,” Goyal said.
Delivery partners are not assigned shifts or fixed locations. They choose when to log in, when to log out, and where to operate. They can add or remove service areas based on personal preference, making gig work, he argued, a 365-day income safety net rather than a permanent lock-in.
“Flexibility isn’t incidental to the gig model — it is the whole point,” he said.
Why millions still choose gig work
Goyal also took on the broader narrative that gig workers are trapped in exploitative systems. He urged critics to speak directly to delivery partners.
“If you’ve ever wanted to know why millions of Indians voluntarily take up platform work, and sometimes even prefer it to regular jobs, just ask any rider partner,” he wrote, adding that their answers are often “rational and honest”.
He acknowledged that no system is perfect and improvements are always needed, but rejected the idea that gig platforms are fundamentally exploitative.
“If I were outside the system, I would also believe that gig workers are being exploited, but that’s not true,” he said.
What triggered strike
The strike by gig workers comes amid growing discontent across India’s platform economy, where delivery partners working for food delivery, quick commerce and ride-hailing apps have been mobilising under newly formed unions and collectives.
Over the past few weeks, rider groups in multiple cities called for boycotts and log-outs, alleging that platforms have steadily reduced per-order payouts, increased penalties and incentives-linked targets, and transferred rising fuel and vehicle costs onto workers.
Unions representing gig workers are demanding minimum guaranteed earnings per day, transparent algorithmic allocation of orders, accident and health insurance, social security coverage, and recognition of platform workers as a distinct labour category under law.
A key flashpoint has been the expansion of ultra-fast deliveries, which unions claim creates economic and psychological pressure on riders to take risks on the road, even if platforms deny this. The strike has therefore become not just a wage protest, but a broader push to redefine how India’s rapidly growing gig economy treats its workers.
Deeper debate after strike
The recent strike has reopened the national debate on whether gig workers should be treated as employees or independent contractors, and whether India needs a new social security framework for platform workers.
While worker groups continue to demand stronger protections, Goyal’s comments underline how platforms like Zomato and Blinkit see gig work, as a flexible, opt-in economic layer built on technology, logistics density and user demand, rather than traditional employment.
As quick commerce and food delivery become deeply embedded in urban India, the real challenge, as Goyal pointed out, may lie in balancing worker welfare, consumer convenience and road safety, without breaking the economic model that millions already rely on.
