Quick commerce platforms may be dropping the “10-minute delivery” promise from branding, but gig workers in Delhi say the pressure to deliver fast hasn’t eased because incentives and ratings still depend on high-volume, quick turnarounds. The disconnect between what apps advertise and what riders experience on the road has reopened the debate on safety, pay, and accountability in India’s booming instant-delivery business.
Platforms step back from “10 minutes” pitch:
Quick commerce companies have assured the Union labour ministry that they will stop projecting 10-minute delivery as a standard commitment to customers, following concerns flagged about stressful working conditions for delivery partners. The discussions were steered last week by the labour ministry, and labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya raised issues highlighted by gig worker unions, urging platforms to avoid “branding” tight deadlines that could translate into unsafe pressure. Blinkit, owned by Eternal, has already removed the “10-minute” delivery claim from its platforms and changed its tagline from “10,000+ products delivered in 10 minutes” to “30,000+ products delivered at your doorstep,” while other players were still seen carrying 10-minute branding in some app listings at the time.
The change comes after delivery partners launched protests in late 2025, most notably a flash strike on New Year’s Eve, seeking greater compensation, better working conditions, and an end to the 10-minute service promise.Riders contend that eliminating a slogan does not automatically alter how deliveries are distributed or how earnings are determined, despite platforms’ claims that the change is voluntary and intended to improve worker safety.
“Changes little on the ground,” say riders in Delhi:
Gig workers in the national capital said dropping the 10-minute claim makes little difference in daily work because earnings still hinge on doing more orders in less time. Delivery partners told Hindustan Times there may not be an explicit timer forcing them to complete each order within a fixed limit, but the structure of incentives and ratings pushes them to move fast to hit volume-linked targets. One 25 year old delivery agent working largely around Civil Lines said there is “no time limit” for an order, yet the number of deliveries completed and the time taken affects incentives and ratings, shaping how riders approach every run.
This is the main source of conflict: even if a platform stops promoting “10 minutes,” riders will still be motivated to chase consecutive drops in order to get a respectable daily wage. Employees claim that when they try to maximize travels and avoid missing incentive slabs that could significantly alter take-home pay, the pressure increases during peak hours, such as lunch, the evening, and weekends.Riders contend that as a result, the risk silently passes onto them: even if a marketing line vanishes, incentive logic is unaffected by traffic, bad weather, or poor roads.
Government push ties into gig worker protections:
The labor ministry’s action is a part of a larger effort to guarantee “better working conditions, safety, and security” for gig workers who work for fast commerce platforms.According to draft rules referenced in the paper, aggregators and platforms in India’s gig economy will be required to contribute up to 5%—typically ranging from 1% to 2% of the earnings earned to workers towards a National Social Security Fund under new labor laws put into effect in November of last year.Officials think that eliminating the 10-minute delivery branding can be a first step toward lowering inflated public expectations and the pressure that follows on delivery partners.
However, for unions, safety is more than just messaging; it’s about the real-time operation of incentives, sanctions, and performance rating.They argue that the incentives to speed, particularly for riders attempting to surpass minimal earnings, will persist unless platforms reorganize incentive criteria and provide protections in the event of accidents.Quick commerce has been forced to admit that speed-at-all-costs is no longer an easy sell due to the protests, strikes, and public debate of the past few weeks.
Quick commerce faces a credibility test:
Convenience and speed were key components of Quick Commerce’s brand, but the new reset implies that “speed” now carries a reputational risk if worker welfare appears to be compromised.Blinkit’s revised motto, which highlights a wider range of products rather than a set delivery time, denotes a shift in marketing strategy away from minutes and toward variety. However, gig workers in Delhi maintain that there hasn’t been any immediate change because the system favors quick riders rather than careful ones.
The upcoming weeks will reveal whether internal dispatch and incentive designs are modified to align with the safer positioning guaranteed to the government, and whether other aggregators similarly completely remove “10-minute” terminology. For riders, the standard is straightforward: regardless of what the app indicates, the pressure remains if profits still demand constant volume.
