Quick commerce platforms on Tuesday agreed to discontinue “10-minute delivery” services following an intervention by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who raised concerns about the safety and well-being of delivery partners, sources told news agency ANI.
The decision came after consultations between the minister and representatives of leading platforms, highlighting the need to ease stringent delivery timelines to prevent risks to gig workers.
Mandaviya held discussions with officials from Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy and Zomato, during which he advised companies to relax strict delivery timelines in the interest of worker safety.
The firms assured the government that delivery-time commitments would be removed from their branding, advertisements and social media platforms.
According to ANI, Blinkit has already implemented the directive by dropping the 10-minute delivery promise from its branding, while other platforms are expected to follow in the coming days.
The move aims to ensure greater safety, security and improved working conditions for gig workers. It follows a nationwide strike by gig worker unions demanding the removal of ultra-fast delivery options and the restoration of earlier payout structures.
The strike was organised under the banner of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), which represents delivery workers and drivers associated with platforms including Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto and Amazon.
As per reports, on December 31, 2025, over 100,000 delivery partners across platforms went on a nationwide strike, demanding a ban on the 10-minute delivery model, minimum wage protections (e.g., Rs 40,000 monthly), and worker safety measures.
A memorandum was submitted to the Ministry of Labour asking for resolution of these problems. On January 13, 2026, India’s Labour Ministry intervened and asked quick-commerce companies to remove the fixed “10-minute delivery” promise from their platforms and marketing materials, prioritising worker safety over ultra-fast timelines.
Following the directive, platforms such as Blinkit have officially removed 10-minute delivery claims, and other major apps (Zepto, Swiggy, Zomato) are expected to follow or modify their delivery time communications. This was done after discussion with the company executives.
The Labour Ministry’s message was “Delivery workers’ lives and safety must come before speed marketing.”
India’s quick-commerce ecosystem (e.g., Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy, Zomato) grew rapidly in recent years, promising ultra-fast delivery (often within 10 minutes) to consumers using dense networks of dark stores and gig workers.
Gig workers raised concerns that such tight delivery timelines force them to work under high stress, low predictable pay, and unsafe conditions (including speeding and increased accident risk).
Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has come under severe criticism on social media after his remarks on the December 31 nationwide strike by gig workers, with several delivery partners and netizens accusing him of being dismissive of their concerns and focusing more on business metrics than on issues related to pay, safety and working conditions.
After the second round of gig workers’ strikes on New Year’s Eve, Deepinder Goyal said in a post on X that the 10-minute delivery promise offered by Blinkit is enabled by the “density of stores around homes” and not by asking delivery partners to drive fast.
However, several delivery partners told The Indian Express that their primary concern relates to declining per-order payouts over the years, rather than the ’10-minute delivery’ model itself.
