About 40 per cent of India’s gig workers earn less than Rs 15,000 a month, the Economic Survey 2025-26 has said, calling for minimum per-hour or per-task earnings and faster implementation of Labour Codes to ensure fair wages, social security and better working conditions.
Tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the survey said the objective of gig economy policy should be to reshape employment terms so that workers exercise genuine choice, instead of being pushed into gig work due to weak demand, skill mismatches or the absence of a safety net.
The survey flagged income volatility as a core challenge in the fast-expanding gig economy, noting that unstable earnings limit access to credit and keep many workers financially excluded.
About 40 per cent of gig workers, it said, earn below Rs 15,000 per month, with limited skilling and fears of job losses due to technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning deepening their vulnerability.
To address the disparity between regular and gig employment, the survey suggested setting minimum earnings per hour or task, including compensation for waiting time, and limiting incentives that encourage employers to bypass mandatory benefits.
Such measures, it said, would help reduce cost gaps, encourage formalisation and raise incomes for low- and medium-skilled gig workers.
The document also raised concerns over the concentration of power among digital platforms, which control work allocation, performance monitoring, wages and supply-demand matching through algorithms.
It warned that this dominance could lead to algorithmic bias and worker burnout, calling for competition rules, greater data access and algorithmic transparency.
Recent strikes by food delivery and quick commerce workers demanding better payouts, improved conditions, formal legal recognition and the removal of tight delivery deadlines were cited as evidence of mounting tensions.
Following these protests, the government asked e-commerce firms to remove 10-minute delivery branding from their platforms.
The Survey said India’s gig workforce expanded by 55 per cent to 1.2 crore in FY25 from 77 lakh in FY21, accounting for over 2 per cent of the total workforce.
Non-agricultural gig jobs are projected to make up 6.7 per cent of employment by 2029-30 and contribute Rs 2.35 lakh crore to GDP.
Alongside wage reforms, the survey stressed that effective implementation of the four Labour Codes would be critical to improving job security for women, gig and platform workers.
The codes, notified in November 2025, consolidate 29 central labour laws and formally recognise gig and platform workers, extending social security, welfare funds and benefit portability.
Draft rules under the codes were pre-published in December 2025, with rules expected to be finalised in the coming months.
The Survey said dynamic labour policy and flexible regulation were essential as definitions of work continue to evolve amid digitalisation and new employment models.
It highlighted the role of the e-Shram portal in bridging informal and formal employment, noting that over 31 crore unorganised workers had been registered as of January 2026, with women accounting for 54 per cent.
Each registrant is assigned a universal account number to ensure portability of benefits across jobs and locations.
On skills, the survey called for flexible vocational pathways starting at school level, targeted skilling for women and youth in high-productivity sectors, and closer industry-driven training to improve job quality as India shifts focus from the quantity of jobs to the quality of work.
(With inputs from PTI)