“We need to talk…about deals starting at R29”. Early mornings of Gen Z and millennials are often about waking up to smart lines like these. Sent by multiple food delivery applications such as Swiggy and Zomato, ordering online is not restricted to food delivery applications. E-commerce platform Amazon, registered 1.1 billion customer visits during its Great Indian Festival sale in 2023. [legitimising a shift in the mentality of Indian consumers from going to the market to buying things online – both swiggy n amazon happening online so where’s the shift – delete this part ].
Urban studies expert Vandana Vasudevan’s new book, OTP Please Online Buyers, Sellers and Gig Workers in South Asia (Penguin), studies data from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to show how the culture is driving change in the lives of buyers, sellers, and workers of the gig economy.
Free from the kitchen
“The biggest change food delivery applications and its workers have brought in the lives of a working person, especially a woman, is freedom,” says Vasudevan. Her book cites the example of Shobha Raani, a cyber café owner in Patna, who orders food for herself every weekend afternoon as she is exhausted after managing her own business. “Earlier, women had to sweat it out in the kitchen in case they had sudden guests. They now have the freedom to order in food. On the one hand, this saves time, and on the other, it pushes women, at least in the urban space, towards more creative things,” Vasudevan adds.
This freedom has also impacted singles, men and women. “Living alone is suddenly a lot easier and an option for a lot of people. They can buy any kind of food they want online. They are free from the struggles of cooking food every day,” says Vasudevan.
The pain and struggle
This new-found independence has a downside—for the workers of the gig economy. “Many jobs were lost during COVID-19. This economy offered new opportunities so that they could earn and take care of their families. However, there are many incidents of delivery partners meeting with accidents as they have to speed their bikes to deliver food/groceries fast,” she says.
Recently, both the Rajasthan and Karnataka state governments introduced measures to protect the well-being of gig workers. Vasudevan welcomes these policies as they will ensure the safety of workers and give their jobs security—after all, they are major stakeholders in this economy. Workers and their families are often deprived of accidental insurance if they are involved in a mishap in the course of the job, she points out.