A fresh debate around the working conditions of gig economy workers has emerged after a viral social media post highlighted the low earnings of a Blinkit delivery partner. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha cited the incident to raise concerns over what he described as the structural exploitation of workers employed by quick commerce platforms.
The discussion gained momentum after a Blinkit delivery agent from Uttarakhand, known on social media as Thapliyal Ji, shared details of his daily income on Instagram. According to the post, the delivery partner completed 28 orders over nearly 15 hours but earned only Rs 763 in total. A screenshot shared alongside the video showed that his average hourly earning worked out to roughly Rs 51.
Reacting to the viral clip, Raghav Chadha said such cases underline deeper issues within the gig economy. He argued that India’s growing digital ecosystem cannot be sustained if workers remain underpaid and overburdened. The Rajya Sabha MP, who has earlier raised the matter in Parliament, said that the incident reflects the everyday struggles faced by millions of delivery and ride-hailing workers.
Calling attention to the challenges of gig work, Chadha pointed to long working hours, uncertain income, absence of job security, and lack of dignity at work. He said that while app-based companies have expanded rapidly across cities, safeguards for workers have failed to keep pace with this growth.
28 deliveries.
15 hours of relentless work.
₹763 earned.This is not a “gig economy success story”.
This is systemic exploitation hidden behind apps & algorithms.I raised this issue in Parliament recently. Low pay, crushing targets, no job security, no dignity for gig… pic.twitter.com/gLwQbcE1iQ
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) December 16, 2025
The MP further stressed the need for minimum wage standards, reasonable working hours, and social security coverage for gig workers. According to him, these demands should be treated as basic rights rather than optional benefits.
The issue sparked widespread discussion on social media platform X, where users shared their own experiences and calculations. Entrepreneur Rishabh Singhal pointed out that delivery partners often incur additional expenses, including vehicle rentals or fuel costs. He noted that after accounting for daily expenses such as electric bike rentals or petrol, a worker’s net income may drop significantly, leaving monthly earnings at modest levels.
As per a NITI Aayog report, India had around 77 lakh gig workers during 2020–21. This number is expected to grow sharply, with projections suggesting the workforce could reach 2.35 crore by 2029–30, driven by the expansion of digital platforms and app-based services.
In response to long-standing concerns, the government has introduced new labour codes that formally recognise gig and platform workers under a social security framework. These provisions aim to offer benefits such as insurance coverage, access to ESIC, and provident fund schemes. However, critics argue that effective implementation and enforcement remain key challenges.