NITI Aayog on June 27 launched a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’. The report was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, CEO and Special Secretary Dr. K Rajeswara Rao.
Key highlights
- The report is a first-of-its-kind study that presents comprehensive perspectives and recommendations on the gig–platform economy in India.
- The report estimates that in 2020–21, 77 lakh (7.7 million) workers were engaged in the gig economy.
- They constituted 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India. The gig workforce is expected to expand to 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers by 2029–30.
- Gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood in India by 2029–30.
- At present, about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low skilled jobs.
- Trend shows the concentration of workers in medium skills is gradually declining and that of the low skilled and high skilled is increasing.
- To harness the potential of the gig-platform sector, the report recommends accelerating access to finance through products specifically designed for platform workers, linking self-employed individuals engaged in the business of selling regional and rural cuisine, street food, etc., with platforms to enable them to sell their produce to wider markets in towns and cities.
What are gig and platform workers?
- The Code on Social Security was the first time gig and platform workers were recognised by the government, which sought to give workers social security benefits.
- The report defines a gig worker as “someone who engages in income-earning activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship, as well as in the informal sector”.
- It defines those working with platforms such as Ola, Uber, Dunzo, Swiggy, Zomato and Urban Company as platform workers.
- It even goes on to term platform labour as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
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