90-Day Work A Year: Centre Drafts New Social Security Rules For Gig Workers | Business News

Deliverymen of restaurant aggregators Swiggy and Zomato ride their bikes towards their destinations, in New Delhi. (IMAGE: PTI FILE)

The Centre has drafted new rules under the Social Security Code that seek to extend welfare benefits to gig and platform workers after a minimum period of engagement, marking a significant shift in how such workers are classified and protected.

The draft rules propose that gig and platform workers who have been engaged for at least 90 days would be eligible for social security benefits.

For workers active across multiple platforms, the eligibility threshold has been proposed at 120 days. The draft has been released for public comments.

Under the proposed framework, a worker would be considered to be engaged with a platform from the day they begin earning through it.

If a worker is active on more than one platform on a given day, each instance would be counted cumulatively, according to a report by the Times of India.

For example, being live on three platforms in a single day would be treated as three working days, the report said.

The draft rules also propose that workers associated with platforms either directly or through third-party entities be treated as employees for the purpose of extending social security coverage.

Under the new labour code, eligible gig workers would be entitled to health, life and accident insurance and be registered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The move comes at a time when gig workers and platform unions have been stepping up pressure on companies and the government over wages, working conditions and access to welfare benefits. Several unions had called for a nationwide protest on December 31 to press their demands.

The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claimed that over one lakh workers from 22 cities participated in the strike, including around 14,000 members from major urban centres such as Delhi and Mumbai, according to a separate report by Moneycontrol.

Food delivery platforms, however, said the protest had little impact on their operations. Swiggy, Zomato and magicpin reported strong order volumes on New Year’s Eve, with companies insisting that services ran normally despite the agitation, the report said.

In a post on X, Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit delivered more than 75 lakh orders in a single day, calling it an all-time high. Magicpin founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma also said the platform saw “no impact” from the strike.

According to official estimates, India currently has more than 12.7 million gig workers. Government think tank NITI Aayog has projected that the size of the gig workforce could grow to 23.5 million by 2029–30.