India's gig and platform workforce is expected to reach nearly 62mn by 2047, according to a labour ministry study cited by the Business Standard. The report said that 15% of the total workforce will account the for non-agricultural workforce.
The study by the labour ministry-affiliated VV Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) attributed this growth to technological advancements, shifting labour market preferences and the growing need for flexible work arrangements.
“The estimate predicts a compounding growth pattern, with the number of gig workers more than doubling over the next 17 years, indicating that the sector will play a major role in employment generation in the Indian economy," the report said.
It has also been observed that initially rooted in areas like ride-sharing and food delivery, it has now expanded into various sectors including healthcare, education, creative services and professional consulting, among others.
The study used estimates from a 2022 NITI Aayog report on gig workers and employed the exponential smoothing ETS (Error, Trend, Seasonality) model for forecasting, as it assigns greater weight to recent data points.
According to the government think tank's 2022 report, titled India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy, more than 3mn Indian workers were employed by roughly 11 platform companies in 2020. This number is projected to grow to 23mn by 2030—accounting 7% of the total non-agricultural workforce. A government source earlier, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Outlook Business that the current number of gig workers may be around 20mn.
Even though the workforce in this segment continues to grow, workers still do not receive any social security or welfare benefits due to the absence of a formal framework. The committee tasked with developing such a framework was initially expected to submit its report by the end of December last year, but the deadline was later extended to January this year. However, the report remains delayed.
