End of 10-minute delivery offer is a breakthrough

THE Central government’s intervention to end the 10-minute delivery offer in the booming quick-commerce sector has been rightly welcomed by gig workers and their well-wishers. The Labour Ministry has prevailed upon leading platforms to shun the ultra-fast route, which was putting immense pressure on delivery agents and making them take life-threatening risks on the roads. In recent years, the 10-minute promise was defended as a triumph of logistics. Major aggregators argued that dense networks of dark stores and short distances made rapid delivery possible without forcing bikers to speed. However, when incentives, ratings and penalties decide income, workers inevitably become desperate.

The nationwide strike by gig workers on New Year’s Eve may not have derailed operations, but it did serve to highlight their problems. Protesters red-flagged an unfair system that punished delay without accounting for traffic, weather or fatigue. Dropping the 10-minute attraction is a necessary corrective, but it is not a cure. As even some platforms admit, most deliveries already take longer than 10 minutes. The slogan was as much about shaping consumer expectations as it was about operational reality. Removing it does little to address the vulnerabilities of gig work: income insecurity, arbitrary deactivations, lack of collective bargaining and inadequate social protection.

The Code on Social Security, which finally recognises gig and platform workers, offers a framework for welfare funds, insurance and old-age support. Yet implementation will matter more than intent. Contributions by aggregators, transparent pay calculations and enforceable safety standards must be the order of the day. India’s quick-commerce revolution has undeniably transformed urban life. Customers’ convenience, however, should not come at the cost of workers’ dignity and safety.