Gig Economy Is One Of India's Biggest Job Creators: Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal On Gig-Workers Strike

Amid heightened social media attention on the pay scale of gig-workers and the gig-economy at large, Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal shared insights on one of the "largest organised job creation engines' in India.

After the gig economy came under public scrutiny, Goyal said, “Gig doesn’t need more regulation, it needs less regulation. It will bring more people into the fold, who will be able to earn some money, upskill themselves and later join India’s organised workforce. Not to mention, consistently send their kids to school - which will fundamentally change the fabric of our nation one generation later.”

His comments came ahead of the Union Labour Ministrys' decision to release draft rules for public comment, which suggest that gig workers will be eligible for social security benefits if they engage for at least 90 days with an e-aggregator, or at least 120 days in the case of multiple aggregators in a financial year. 

What Does This Document Signal For Gig Workers?

1. If a gig worker or a platform worker earns any income, irrespective of the amount, for the work carried out on any calendar day, he/she will be considered to be engaged with an aggregator for one day. 
2. If a gig worker or a platform worker carries out work for multiple aggregators, the total number of engagement days will be counted cumulatively across all aggregators.
3. In case the gig worker or platform worker carries out work with three aggregators on the same calendar day, the total days of engagement will be counted as three. 

On the other hand, Goyal claimed, "Gig workers is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages."

Also Read: MTV Shuts Standalone Music Channels

Further he said, “Ban gig work and you don’t solve inequality. You remove livelihoods. These jobs don’t magically reappear as formal, protected employment the next day. They disappear, or they get pushed back into the informal economy where there are even fewer protections and even less accountability."

"Over-regulate it until the model breaks, and you achieve the same outcome through paperwork instead of slogans: the work evaporates, prices rise, demand collapses, and the people we claim to protect are the first to lose income," he added. 

Goyal also voiced his opinion on the "uncomfortable truth" the consuming class face when directly interacting with the working class. 

He said, "We aren't just debating economics. We are confronting guilt. That ₹800 order might equal their entire day's earnings after fuel, bike rent, and app cuts. We tip awkwardly, or avoid eye contact, because the inequality is no longer abstract. It's personal."

"Pre-gig era, the rich could enjoy luxury without moral discomfort. Labor was out of sight. Now, every doorbell ring is a reminder of systemic inequality. That's why debates explode. It's not just policy. It's emotional reckoning. Some defend the system (“they choose it”), others demand change (“this isn't progress, it's exploitation”)," he noted.