Davos 2026: Gig economy emerges as India’s third pillar, Swiggy paid delivery partners over Rs 5,000 crore last year

India’s gig economy has evolved into a third pillar of livelihood alongside formal employment and entrepreneurship, with food delivery platforms paying out more than Rs 5,000 crore to delivery partners over the past year, Swiggy food marketplace chief Rohit Kapoor said, as per a Moneycontrol report, amid intensifying debate around gig worker pay, incentives and labour regulation.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Kapoor stated that platform-linked work has reached a scale that makes it central to India’s employment landscape, with significant income flows now being generated for delivery partners across the country.

He said Swiggy alone paid out over Rs 5,000 crore to delivery partners last year, underlining the size of the opportunity and the role gig platforms play in supporting livelihoods at scale.

On regulation, Kapoor stated that Swiggy and other gig platforms have been engaged in discussions around the new labour codes for more than two years and welcomed efforts to bring greater formalisation to the sector, while cautioning against equating gig work with traditional salaried employment. He informed that the fundamental premise of gig work is flexibility, which differentiates it from conventional job structures.

He added that the rapid expansion of the gig economy has inevitably triggered scrutiny around earnings, incentive structures and social security, and said regulators, platforms and policymakers would need a deeper understanding of the sector’s unique operating model as regulatory frameworks take shape.

Kapoor’s comments come as delivery partner earnings remain under the spotlight. Moneycontrol had earlier reported that only around one in 25 users tip delivery partners on platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, highlighting the limited role gratuities play in overall earnings.

He stated that tipping remains marginal in India and is unlikely to become a primary income source for delivery partners, noting that it is supplementary rather than foundational to earnings.

In a separate analysis, Moneycontrol had reported that delivery partner incomes are driven largely by base payouts, incentives and order density rather than tips.

Addressing delivery timelines and productivity, Kapoor stated that higher earnings are primarily driven by proximity and demand density rather than speed, adding that partners complete more orders because distances are shorter, not because they ride faster. He pointed to localised fulfilment, improved routing technology and stronger restaurant coordination as key contributors to efficiency gains.

Looking ahead, Kapoor stated that the next phase of growth in food delivery will not be led by aggressive expansion into new cities, but by improving affordability and encouraging first-time users to shift from home cooking to food delivery.

He informed that future growth would come from consumers choosing delivery because it is accessible, affordable and easy to try, rather than from geographic expansion alone.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that food delivery growth has moderated in recent quarters, with platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato finding it difficult to sustain momentum beyond major urban centres.