The Delhi High Court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against Sudarshan TV and its editor Suresh Chavhanke in connection with allegations that his channel made false accusations against a madrasa. The case against Chavhanke was filed by Mohammed Tufail Khan
China said on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang'e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch
Canada’s Carney Puts His ‘No Deal Is Better Than a Bad Deal’ Doctrine to the Test The prime minister ’s approach has broad support from the Canadian public and his political opponents, but it isn’t without risks. Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 14:05:27 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via
A group of former cricket captains, including Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and one of England's longest-serving skippers Sir Alastair Cook, have called on Pakistan to ensure its ex-PM Imran Khan be given proper care while in custody. The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since
Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday (August 24, 2026), as Iranian and U.S. blockades restrict traffic through the chokepoint for energy shipments. Four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026)
India's thriving online delivery platforms face a year of reckoning
India's thriving online delivery platforms face a year of reckoning
Last week, the Indian government asked e-commerce companies to stop 10-minute deliveries - drawing the curtain on a much-trumpeted promise by start-ups to provide groceries, food, grooming and even home repair services at lightning speeds in India.
The diktat follows a New Year's Eve strike by some 200,000 gig workers that pitted start-up founders and venture capitalists against politicians, trade unions and delivery workers over demands that ranged from minimum wages to a ban on the 10-minute promise.
The striking workers also asked for more transparency in wage calculation and an end to what they allege is arbitrary algorithmic control of things like ratings and even contract termination.
Armies of men and women - but mostly men - speeding through traffic to deliver parcels, come rain or sun, have become a common sight on the roads of Mumbai, Delhi and other Indian cities since the pandemic.
Millions of households are now used to the convenience of quick doorstep deliveries booked through digital apps, with platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit and Instamart becoming integral to urban commerce in Asia's third largest economy.
While the striking workers - who form the backbone of these apps - are bargaining for better, safer working conditions, platforms argue that over-regulation will kill an industry that is possibly the fastest growing segment of the Indian labour market. India's gig workforce is 12 million strong and expected to double to 24 million by the end of this decade.
The workers' strike on the last day of 2025, and the ban on 10-minute deliveries - although not yet fully in place - come even as the government is all set to implement new rules that bring gig work under the ambit of labour laws for the first time. A new code set to come into effect this year has brought in, among other things, insurance coverage and social security protections for workers who clock 90 days on the platforms every year.
All of this puts new burdens on delivery apps that have thrived on light-touch regulation and cheap labour so far. Their stock prices have plunged - Swiggy is down some 15% in the last month, and Eternal, which owns Zomato and quick-commerce company Blinkit, is trading flat - as operating costs and pressures from the unions build up.
With investors spooked and some opposition politicians strongly backing the strikes, gig platform founders such as Eternal boss Deepinder Goyal have been forced to go into firefighting mode.
In a series of posts on X earlier this month, Goyal defended the resilience of his platforms, saying that Zomato and Blinkit delivered 75 million orders to 63 million customers on New Years' Eve - "a record pace" unaffected by the striking workers who he called "miscreants".
He also dismissed criticism that the 10-minute delivery model was unsafe, saying riders were able to meet the timeline not because of reckless speeding, but because of the density of dark stores (warehouses) that platforms had invested in.
"If a system were fundamentally unfair, it would not consistently attract and retain so many people who choose to work within it," Goyal said, providing a stream of data to highlight how millions were benefitting from the app he had founded in a country where jobs were hard to come by.
According to Goyal, platforms like his already offer a range of social security protections, from insurance to period rest days and access to pension schemes. Most delivery workers, he said, work only for a few hours a day, and a few days in a month. The attrition rate is at 65% a year, indicating this is not a permanent job for many, and thus couldn't come with the benefits of full-time work.
Moreover, if someone committed to working full time, they would earn around 21,000 rupees (£173, $232) plus tips in a month - a far better wage than what those employed in India's vast informal blue-collar economy or even entry-level formal workers get, Goyal argued.
Critics, however, are not convinced. They say these numbers mask hidden social and economic costs imposed on delivery workers - such as onboarding expenses, the money they have to spend on their own uniforms, vehicles and fuel.
They also say the incentive structures adopted by the apps reward speed, penalise delays or refusals of orders, and encourage working conditions that offer hardly any flexibility to workers without compromising on their ability to earn well.
Goyal's assertion that the system is fair because it attracts so many people is also fundamentally flawed, say experts.
"Such work often represents economic desperation rather than genuine choice," according to Kasim Saiyyad, a PhD candidate from Cornell University who spent time as a delivery worker with a food delivery app for two months.
The debate has presented a conundrum for Indian policymakers and companies.
Gig work by definition is not permanent, but unlike in the West where it is considered a side hustle until people move to better jobs, in India it has come to become a full-time occupation for many, in the absence of stable employment in areas like manufacturing.
A recent survey by Primus Partners, a consulting firm, showed that around 61% of gig workers described themselves as full-time employees.
"Only about 35% say they are part-time, and a mere 4% are seasonal or occasional," the report said, adding that many workers in their 20s described these jobs as long-term careers, despite only one out of four having insurance or pension benefits.
"Without structured pathways for advancement, there is a growing risk of creating a 'missing middle' - a large segment of the workforce that powers consumption but remains excluded from stability, protections and long-term economic mobility," the report said, calling for better social protections, minimum wages and creating pathways to higher-skilled roles that pay better.
But gig platforms - many of whom have raised billions of dollars through private equity and public markets - are expectedly reluctant to budge.
They operate on wafer-thin margins as it is (2.5-4.5% on food delivery, and negative returns on groceries), according to estimates from HSBC research.
And profitability is expected to come under more pressure from the rise in welfare costs imposed by the new social security law.
"The uncertainty around strikes and inflationary pressures on costs because of higher incentives will make 2026 challenging for these apps," Karan Taurani of Elara Capital told the BBC.
One union has already warned of more strikes if platforms don't come forward for talks over their demands, while an opposition politician has vowed to take up the workers' cause both inside and outside parliament.
Across the world, gig worker protections have strengthened in the past five years as pressures have mounted on platforms.
In 2021, a court in London ruled that Uber drivers were workers and entitled to minimum wages and holiday pay. Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have also been rapidly enacting legislation to improve pay transparency and worker rights.
In India too, workers are unlikely to give up without a fight. And as this battle heats up, consumers may eventually be forced to shell out more for their daily deliveries.
Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
Source: BBC
Related Posts: World
India had asked the United States not to allow reporters to ask questions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France in June, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Saturday
8 hours ago
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell with the support of 20 other former international skippers appealed to the Pakistan Government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, to provide ‘humane treatment and proper medical care’ for Imran Khan
11 hours ago
The shock resignation of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier this month has left corporate India's top job vacant. But finding his successor will be no easy task for the country's most revered conglomerate, whose sprawling $300bn empire spans Jaguar Land Rover and Air India as well as
11 hours ago
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic's top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support U.S
11 hours ago
Authorities in China have launched an investigation into reports of formaldehyde being used to preserve the freshness of cabbages for human consumption. Officials in the northeastern Hebei province confirmed that they had verified footage showing individuals dipping cabbages in a solution before
11 hours ago
Three newborns died after a fire that broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati district in the early hours of Monday, PTI reported. The fire broke out at the Amravati District Women’s Hospital around 3
11 hours ago
Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:10:49 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Islamabad
11 hours ago
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s three-day visit to New Delhi in July 2026 for the India-Japan summit appears to have elevated relations between the two Asian countries into a fresh phase of strategic expansion. Ties had already undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade
11 hours ago
How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:11:50 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Sydeny, If you're aged over 70
11 hours ago
On Sunday, in a post on X, Wali said the audio contained "explosive evidence" and claimed that Brar admitted his gang had ordered Nijjar's killing, alleging that the assassination was driven by an inter-gang feud. Ottawa: Three years after NIA designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in
15 hours ago
Until recently, there would have been little to distinguish Vietnam's so-called Justice Tree from the hundreds of others lining the streets of Hanoi. Then the bouquets started piling up. It was here that former politician Nguyen Sy Cuong was driving his BMW in May last year when he veered into the
15 hours ago
Fast-fashion giant Shein says it plans to raise up to HK13.86bn (£1.3bn; $1.77bn) when its shares start trading on the Hong Kong stock market on 1 September. In a filing on Monday, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50
15 hours ago
A fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire near Reno, Nevada, has forced about 42,000 people to evacuate, while another 45,000 have been urged to prepare to leave. The Hawk Fire has burned 15,040 acres, destroyed some homes and injured six people. Officials declared a state of emergency as the blaze
15 hours ago
Former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri has raised concerns about the verification process under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Suri, a retired Indian Foreign Services officer, went through the process in Punjab. It is among the 16 states where the voter roll revision is being
15 hours ago
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday (August 23, 2026), injuring more than 20 people, most of them slightly, officials said. There was no danger of a tsunami. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency
1 days ago
Chinese humanoid robots broke records set by humans, including beating Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record, on the opening day of the Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday (August 22, 2026). More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event
1 days ago
One afternoon in 1907, a young accountant named Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman walked into the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at 210 Bowbazar Street in Calcutta. Though he had a passion for the sciences, colonial India offered no stable careers in the field
1 days ago
Three first information reports were filed against 14 identified and more than 200 unidentified persons on Saturday in connection with clashes between the police and student protesters a day earlier, PTI quoted Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana as saying
1 days ago
Did an Amazon delivery guy assault a 71-year-old man in California? What we know about the attack and lawsuit A California lawsuit alleged that an Amazon delivery driver assaulted a 71-year-old man at an Elk Grove gas station. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
‘Pure evil’: Videos of mothers splashing water at their kids spark outrage amid Lindsay Clancy trial Social media videos of mothers throwing water at their children have sparked concerns amid Lindsay Clancy's trial. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The sister of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday (August 22, 2026) filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the government and senior officials of violating the top court’s order to shift him to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment
1 days ago
The United States and Canada have entered into uncharted territory. The longtime allies and economic partners, who have enjoyed free trade for decades, are now in an escalating trade war with no clear off ramp. And for Prime Minister Mark Carney
1 days ago
Harrisburg weather update: Special Weather Statement issued for central Pennsylvania as thunderstorms bring 40mph wind NWS has issued a Special Weather Statement for Harrisburg and surrounding parts of central Pennsylvania. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The police in Maharashtra’s Latur have registered a first information report against Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, for allegedly entering a government school without permission, threatening teachers and defaming the institution
1 days ago
The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s (August 24, 2026) scheduled announcement of new U.S. economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran’s most important trading partners including China
1 days ago
Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice
1 days ago
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Thursday upheld an administrative censure for a brigadier who was commanding a sector of the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in December 2023 when three civilians died during an interrogation following a militant attack
1 days ago
