By Vinay Maheshwari.
India’s world of work is evolving rapidly, reshaping the very meaning of livelihood, identity, and stability. A quiet but powerful transformation is underway, the rise of the gig economy, where millions now work not through permanent employment, but through flexible, task-based, platform-enabled engagements. It is a shift visible on the streets, in small-town homes, and on app dashboards across India.
Who are India’s gig workers today?
Understanding this transformation begins with the fundamentals. Gig workers today are no longer a niche category. They include delivery executives, cab drivers, freelance digital professionals, tutors, part-timers, and women earning remotely through online services. Their work is characterised by short-term tasks rather than fixed contracts. While informal labour has existed in India for decades, the modern, organised gig economy surged after 2015 and became a survival lifeline during the pandemic. Today, it is expanding fastest in Tier-II and Tier-III towns, where smartphones and digital payments have democratised access to income.
The scale of this change is dramatic. India had nearly 7.7 million gig workers in 2020–21, figure estimated by NITI Aayog, about 1.5% of its total workforce. That number has now grown to an estimated 12 million, crossing 2% of the labour pool. Projections suggest 23.5 million workers by 2029–30, and long-term estimates imagine 60 million gig-based livelihoods by 2047. Economically, the sector could facilitate over $250 billion in transactions by 2030. Yet, beneath these figures lies a much deeper cultural transformation on how India thinks about work itself.
Flexibility, identity and the new work reality
For generations, a job meant identity, respect, belonging, and community. Offices were more than buildings; they were ecosystems of mentorship, camaraderie, festivals, and shared routine. Staying in one job for decades signified loyalty and pride. The gig economy rewrites that script. Work is now something you do when convenient, not a place you go each day. A worker may drive for Uber in the morning, deliver groceries at night, and shift to seasonal gig work during holidays. Students balance exams with freelance projects. Women who once lacked mobility are now earning from home.
This flexibility is empowering, but not without tension. Gig work offers autonomy, the ability to choose hours, switch platforms, and earn immediately. For many families, this is their first stable source of income. But the same flexibility carries insecurity. Many gig workers earn between ₹13,000 and ₹20,000 per month despite long hours. A missed day means missed income. There is no paid leave, no provident fund, no pension, and very little safety net. Moreover, workers are increasingly monitored not by human managers, but algorithms rating systems and penalties that lack transparency and leave workers feeling invisible within the very systems that depend on them.Economic impact and structural shifts in labour
The gig economy has undeniably expanded employment opportunities at the grassroots level. It has empowered workers to diversify income across multiple gigs, giving them control over their time and output as independent contractors rather than formal employees. By challenging traditional minimum-wage frameworks, gig platforms have allowed many to earn beyond fixed income ceilings, a trend that first emerged in metropolitan cities and is now rapidly spreading into smaller towns. This shift has also absorbed large numbers of informal and bottom-of-the-pyramid workers into predictable, digitally-tracked income streams. However, it has also created labour shortages in traditional industries, especially those dependent on low-wage, unskilled manpower. Higher labour costs are now putting pressure on company margins, leading many sectors to accelerate automation not in competition with gig work, but in complementarity with it. As traditional labour dwindles, machines replace repetitive tasks, and gig workers serve as flexible human capital in support functions. Beyond economics, this income flexibility is gradually reshaping cultural notions of stability and introducing new patterns of spending, savings, and consumption-led growth.
Why leadership education must change
India is, therefore, not simply shifting from one employment model to another, it is witnessing a redefinition of security itself. Traditional employment offered a social contract “give us loyalty, and we will give you stability.” The gig model offers opportunity, but leaves stability to the individual to build. This new reality demands a new philosophy of leadership.
Management and leadership education in India still largely trains students for a world of permanent teams and physical workplaces. Yet in the gig era, leaders must motivate people they may never meet, build trust without hierarchy, and create dignity in systems where workers are temporary by design. Leadership must become architectural not merely supervisory. It must shape platforms that balance efficiency with fairness, and ensure that algorithms do not become cold arbiters of human livelihoods. Leaders will need to advocate for protections such as accident insurance, digital transparency, health cover, and pathways for upskilling, while designing work experiences that give gig contributors a sense of purpose and connection. Policymakers and educational institutions must prepare future leaders to navigate ethical technology, digital workforce psychology, and adaptable labour frameworks.
The future of work needs humane leadership
The gig economy is not a passing phase. It is becoming central to how India will work, earn, and spend in the coming decades. The challenge is not whether gig work will grow, it will, but whether India will let it expand without dignity, or whether it will shape a model here flexibility and security coexist. The future of work will be flexible. The future of leadership must ensure it is also humane, equitable, and visionary.
– The author is the Executive Director at Mohan Babu University.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETEducation does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEducation will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.
