Gig Economy: India's Third Pillar of Livelihood; Swiggy Paid Rs 5,000 Cr to Partners

• Swiggy's Rohit Kapoor announced at Davos 2026 that India's gig economy is now a third pillar of livelihood, alongside formal employment and entrepreneurship.
• Swiggy alone paid over Rs 5,000 crore to its delivery partners last year, highlighting the sector's significant contribution to income generation.
• Kapoor emphasized the importance of flexibility in gig work, differentiating it from traditional salaried jobs, and welcomed formalization efforts while cautioning against equating the two.
• Discussions around gig worker earnings, incentives, and social security are ongoing, with regulators, platforms, and policymakers needing a deeper understanding of the sector.
• Delivery partner earnings are primarily driven by base payouts, incentives, and order density, with tipping remaining a marginal and supplementary income source in India.

Why It Matters: India's gig economy is a major livelihood source, with Swiggy paying Rs 5,000 crore to partners last year.