Online platforms and workers to benefit as Budget formalises gig economy
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Online platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon and Flipkart are likely to see increased interest for delivery-partner and warehouse-worker jobs as the Union Budget has proposed formalising the gig economy, industry executives told Mint.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech on Saturday that gig workers would be provided health insurance under the government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Currently, the National Health Authority (NHA) implements the world’s largest health insurance scheme, which provides health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year.
Under the terms of AB-PMJAY, there is no waiting period and no restrictions on pre-existing health conditions. Also read | Budget 2025: A ₹1 trillion largesse for India’s middle class Gig workers will also be issued identity cards and be eligible to register on the e-Shram portal, the national database of unorganised workers under the labour ministry.
Balasubramanian Anantha Narayanan, senior vice president at recruitment platform Teamlease Services Limited said, “Officially recognising and formalising the gig economy is a step in the right direction. Including gig workers in the organised ecosystem will help them get employment benefits, and encourage more people to take advantage of the growing opportunities." “The issuance of identity cards will give gig work the status of actual jobs.
So far, gig work has been seen as temporary and mainly for side income. Food and grocery delivery platforms, e-commerce companies, and logistics firms will see massive benefits as formalisation kicks in," said Madhav Krishna, founder and chief executive of Vahan.ai, a blue-collar
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