Budget 2026: Experts Flag Gig Worker Risks - Income Volatility, Portability, Accountability

• Experts highlight income volatility, portability gaps, and platform accountability as key risks for India's expanding gig workforce, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Anupama Bhimrajka (foundit) emphasizes income unpredictability and discontinuity as the most acute risks, even with ongoing work, and stresses the need for continuous upskilling.
• Balasubramanian A (TeamLease Services) points to the gig workforce growth (7.7M to 12M currently, 23.5M by 2029-30) and identifies platform accountability as a top policy priority for Budget 2026.
• Jayanth Neelakanta (Equip) notes the lack of a worker-facing digital portal for tracking social security contributions and entitlements, proposing a UPI/CoWIN-like system.
• Industry voices call for portable, income-linked protections, regulatory clarity on payments, income-shock buffers, and a balance between income guarantees and market flexibility.

Why It Matters: Budget 2026 must focus on execution, income stability, portable social security, and digital infrastructure for gig workers.