In a recent development, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) launched a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’. The report sheds light on crucial elements like platform workers and the Startup India Initiative, and highlights the potential of India’s Gig Sector. This includes the opportunities that await the sector, the challenges it faces, and the need for improved social security measures for the workforce.
Expectations from India’s Gig Workforce
The report predicts that India’s gig workforce is set to expand to 2.35 crore by the year 2029-30 from the existing 77 lakh workers in 2020-21. These workers represented 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India. To ensure their wellbeing, NITI Aayog recommended bolstering social security measures for these workers and their families.
Major Issues Highlighted in the Report
The report brings attention to several major concerns including Accessibility, Job and Income Insecurity, Occupational Safety and Health Risks, Skills Mismatch, and Issues related to Contract Terms.
While the gig economy offers a wide array of employment options, access to internet services and digital technology can limit its reach. This leads to the gig economy being predominantly an urban phenomenon. Furthermore, gig workers face the brunt of job uncertainty as they lack benefits from labor regulations related to wages, working hours, working conditions, and collective bargaining rights. This is especially concerning for women workers in app-based taxi and delivery sectors who face various occupational safety and health risks. Additionally, a mismatch of skills prevails on online web-based platforms.
The Gig Economy in India
The gig economy is a free-market system that offers temporary positions, where organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. A gig worker is an individual who performs their duties outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship.
A 2019 report by the India Staffing Federation revealed that India is the fifth largest in flexi-staffing globally, after the US, China, Brazil, and Japan. Boston Consulting Group reports that India’s gig workforce comprises of 15 million workers employed across industries such as software, shared services, and professional services.
Potential of India’s Gig Sector
The gig economy contributes to an estimated 56% of new employment in India. Along with blue-collar jobs, demand for gig workers in white-collar jobs like project-specific consultants, salespeople, web designers, content writers, and software developers is also emerging. Over the long term, the gig economy can potentially serve up to 90 million jobs contributing to 1.25% of the GDP.
Key Drivers in the Gig Sector
The gig sector thrives on its flexibility that allows work from anywhere, a change in work approach from the millennial generation, diverse business models and the emergence of start-up culture in India. MNCs adopting flexi-hiring options, especially for niche projects, to reduce operational expenses post-pandemic has also contributed greatly to the Indian gig culture.
Platform Workers
A platform worker is an individual employed by an organization that provides specific services using an online platform directly to individuals or organizations. They include Ola or Uber drivers, Swiggy or Zomato delivery agents, among others. These workers often do not have access to many aspects of workplace protection and entitlements.
Recommendations for Improvement
‘Platform India Initiative’, designed on the lines of the ‘Startup India initiative’ is advised to accelerate platformization, skill development, and social financial inclusion that can balance the flexibility offered by platforms and the social security of workers. The report also suggested enhancing access to institutional credit through financial products specifically designed for platform workers. It further touched on the need for gender sensitization, accentuating the importance of raising awareness about gender equality.