{"id":45170,"date":"2025-06-11T20:26:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=45170"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:42:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T11:12:17","slug":"rapid-growth-gig-workers-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-06-2025\/rapid-growth-gig-workers-india","title":{"rendered":"Rapid Expansion of Gig Workforce in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, <strong>VV Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI)<\/strong> forecasted that the <strong>Gig workforce in India<\/strong>, making up 15% of the country\u2019s total non-agricultural workforce.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It builds on estimates from <strong>NITI Aayog\u2019s 2022 gig workforce report.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Findings &amp; Projections of Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e6e6e6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"192\" height=\"170\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/india-gig-economy.png\" alt=\"india-gig-economy\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-45193\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e6e6e6; width:250px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Approximately <strong>3 million workers<\/strong> were engaged in platform jobs across 11 major companies <strong>in 2020.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is <strong>expected to reach 23 million<\/strong>, making up 7% of the non-agricultural workforce<strong> by 2030, <\/strong>and is <strong>projected to more than double<\/strong>, reaching 62 million workers by 2047.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It could generate <strong>up to 90.8 million jobs<\/strong> under aspirational growth scenarios, but economic and regulatory uncertainties could limit growth to 32.5 million.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sectoral Expansion:<\/strong> Initially concentrated in ride-sharing and food delivery, gig jobs have <strong>diversified into healthcare, education, creative services, and professional consulting<\/strong> with the rapid <strong>rise of app-based services<\/strong> and shifting work preferences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Regulatory Gaps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Social Security:<\/strong> Gig workers often operate without health benefits, insurance, or retirement provisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Long Working Hours and Stress: <\/strong>Unregulated working hours, erratic schedules, and heavy workloads lead to stress and health safety issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Absence of Grievance Redressal Mechanisms: <\/strong>Workers who raise concerns or speak out against unfair practices often face retaliation, including instances like ID blocking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Regulatory Considerations Highlighted in Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Worker Rights &amp; Unionisation:<\/strong> The study calls for<strong> legal recognition of gig workers<\/strong>, including the <strong>right to unionize and collectively bargain<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Transparency in task allocation<\/strong> algorithms is crucial for fair pay distribution and improved working conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Classification &amp; Legal Protections:<\/strong> Countries like the UK, Canada, Spain, and France legally differentiate workers from independent contractors, ensuring access to labor protections and social security.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India needs clear <strong>classification criteria<\/strong> to address worker vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fair Wages &amp; Algorithmic Accountability:<\/strong> The study recommends policies to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensure minimum income guarantees<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regulate working hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase transparency in gig work assignments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance grievance redressal mechanisms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Registry for Gig Workers:<\/strong> A <strong>statutory registry<\/strong> (i.e. <strong>National Platform Worker Registry)<\/strong>, managed by <strong>central and state governments<\/strong>, could help streamline<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-03-2025\/expanding-india-social-security-net\"> social security<\/a> access for gig employees.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Integration of occupational health and safety standards in platform-based work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other Policies &amp; Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Code on Social Security, 2020:<\/strong> It aims to extend social security benefits to gig and platform workers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It proposes the creation of a social security fund, financed through contributions from aggregators, to provide health insurance, pension schemes, and accident coverage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skill Development &amp; Training:<\/strong> Programs focused on upskilling gig workers in areas like digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and specialized trades are being encouraged to enhance employability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/economy\/news\/gig-workforce-to-grow-to-62-million-by-2047-labour-ministry-study-125060901083_1.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: BS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, VV Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) forecasted that the Gig workforce in India, making up 15% of the country\u2019s total non-agricultural workforce.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Findings &#038; Projections of Study<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Approximately 3 million workers were engaged in platform jobs across 11 major companies in 2020.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It is expected to reach 23 million, making up 7% of the non-agricultural workforce by 2030, and is projected to more than double, reaching 62 million workers by 2047.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It could generate up to 90.8 million jobs under aspirational growth scenarios, but economic and regulatory uncertainties could limit growth to 32.5 million.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Sectoral Expansion: Initially concentrated in ride-sharing and food delivery, gig jobs have diversified into healthcare, education, creative services, and professional consulting with the rapid rise of app-based services and shifting work preferences.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-06-2025\/rapid-growth-gig-workers-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45170"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46105,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45170\/revisions\/46105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}