New Delhi: In a decisive step to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of delivery workers, the Central government has asked e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms to discontinue their much-publicised 10-minute delivery services. Leading companies, including Swiggy and Zomato, have agreed to comply with the directive.
The move followed high-level discussions between Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and major quick-commerce players such as Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy and Zomato. Expressing serious concerns over delivery workers being pushed into unsafe working conditions to meet unrealistic deadlines, the minister called for an immediate rethink of the 10-minute delivery model.
In response, companies assured the government that the 10-minute delivery promise would be removed from their branding, advertisements and social media campaigns. Blinkit has already dropped the claim from its brand messaging, and other aggregators are expected to follow suit shortly.
The government’s intervention comes amid growing unrest among gig workers across the country. Gig worker unions recently launched a nationwide strike demanding the removal of ultra-fast delivery targets and the restoration of earlier, fairer payout structures. The strike was organised under the banner of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, which represents delivery workers and drivers linked to platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto and Amazon.
By putting worker safety at the centre of policy, the move signals a shift toward more responsible practices in India’s fast-growing quick-commerce sector—placing human lives above delivery speed.
