As nationwide strikes by delivery workers reignited debate around fair pay and safety in India’s gig economy, Deepinder Goyal has moved to publicly defend Zomato and Blinkit’s delivery model, releasing detailed data on rider earnings, work patterns, safety metrics and welfare spending to counter allegations of exploitation.
In a series of posts on X, Goyal said average earnings per hour for a Zomato delivery partner rose to Rs 102 in 2025, up from Rs 92 in 2024, translating to a 10.9 percent year-on-year increase, excluding tips.
At full utilisation — defined by the company as 10 hours a day over 26 days — this would amount to gross monthly earnings of around Rs 26,500, or net earnings of roughly Rs 21,000 after fuel and maintenance costs, according to the company’s estimates.
“In 2025, average earnings per hour for a delivery partner on Zomato were Rs 102, excluding tips,” Goyal said, noting that tips are transferred instantly and in full to delivery partners.
Why Zomato is responding now?
Goyal’s intervention comes days after nationwide strike calls on December 25 and December 31, led by gig worker unions, which claimed widespread participation and alleged falling earnings, unsafe delivery targets and arbitrary account suspensions across platforms including Zomato, Blinkit and rivals. While platforms said operations largely remained business-as-usual, the strikes opened up a broader public discussion around whether gig work delivers sustainable incomes.
Addressing the charge of overwork, Goyal said the average delivery partner worked just 38 days in the year, clocking around seven hours per working day, with only 2.3 percent of partners active for more than 250 days.
He argued this reflects gig work being used primarily as flexible, supplementary income, not full-time employment — and that applying traditional employee benchmarks such as provident fund or guaranteed salaries misunderstands the model.
Are delivery partners overworked?
Addressing concerns around long working hours, Goyal said most delivery partners on Zomato do not work full-time schedules. According to company data, the average delivery partner worked 38 days in the year, with around seven hours per working day, while only 2.3 percent worked more than 250 days in 2025.
He argued that this reflects “true gig-style participation” rather than fixed employment, adding that delivery partners choose when and where to log in.
“Flexibility isn’t incidental to the gig model, it is the whole point,” Goyal said, pushing back against calls to apply full-time employment benefits such as guaranteed salaries or provident fund coverage.
Does the 10-minute delivery promise pressure riders to drive unsafely?
Goyal also directly addressed criticism around ultra-fast delivery timelines, a key flashpoint during the strikes. He said delivery partners are not shown customer-facing time promises on their apps and do not see any countdown timers.
According to him, faster deliveries are driven by store density, not higher riding speeds. In 2025, the average distance travelled per order on Blinkit was 2.03 km, with an average driving time of about eight minutes, implying an average speed of around 16 kmph. On Zomato, average speeds were about 21 kmph, despite longer delivery timelines.
“Ten-minute deliveries are primarily due to our stores being closer to customers, not because riders are driving faster,” Goyal said.
What welfare and insurance benefits do gig workers get?
Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit spent over Rs 100 crore in 2025 on insurance coverage for delivery partners, fully borne by the platforms. Coverage includes accident insurance up to Rs 10 lakh, medical insurance of Rs 1 lakh, loss-of-pay insurance, and maternity benefits.
Beyond insurance, he highlighted additional support measures such as periodic rest days for women delivery partners, help with income tax filings, access to a gig-linked National Pension Scheme, and an SOS emergency service.
“Gig workers get welfare benefits and long-term support,” Goyal said, asking critics to assess the model in the context of part-time, low-barrier work.
How has Eternal’s board viewed delivery partner welfare?
Backing Goyal publicly, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge and a board member at Eternal, said delivery partner welfare and compensation are a core focus at the board level.
“Discussions on delivery partner welfare and fair compensation occupy a significant percentage of the time in board meetings. The management and the board are bothered about these,” Bikhchandani wrote in a post on X, adding that those behind the strike campaign could have sought this information directly instead of pursuing a public mobilisation.
Bikhchandani said publicly responding to critics was not their "preference" but they had to respond after being attacked in an "unfair manner".
"We were advised to keep quiet and it would go away in a couple of days. But we decided to fight it out in public and call out these crooks," he told Moneycontrol.
Why this debate has escalated now?
The release of detailed data follows a week of heightened tension between platforms and delivery worker unions. While platforms including Zomato and Swiggy said New Year’s Eve operations were largely business-as-usual despite strike calls, unions claimed widespread participation and said record demand masked deep issues around earnings volatility and safety.
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