Author: Parul Sabherwal

Every evening, India’s cities perform a small miracle. Groceries arrive before the tea is brewed. Dinner appears at the doorstep within minutes. A cab materialises almost as soon as it is booked. Behind every one of those deliveries is a person on a two-wheeler, threading through traffic, navigating potholes, racing against a countdown timer set by an algorithm he has never seen and cannot question. For the consumer, it is convenient. For the worker, it is something else entirely. India had nearly 7.7 million gig and platform workers in 2020-21. By 2029-30, that number is projected to cross 23.5 million,…