Govt pulls brakes on 10-minute delivery, forces quick commerce rethink

India’s leading quick commerce and food delivery platforms, including Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy, are likely to revisit their ultra-fast 10-minute delivery strategy after Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya persuaded major aggregators to remove such promises from their branding and marketing, people aware of the development said.

The move follows a series of meetings held by Mandaviya over the past month with top executives of quick commerce and food delivery companies, where the minister raised concerns about the impact of aggressive delivery timelines on the safety, security and working conditions of gig workers.

According to sources, the labour ministry “nudged” companies to move away from explicitly marketing ultra-fast delivery guarantees, arguing that such commitments can create undue pressure on delivery partners and potentially encourage unsafe practices on congested urban roads. The discussions focused on balancing the sector’s rapid growth with worker welfare, particularly as the gig economy expands sharply in India.

“Following the government’s intervention, major delivery aggregators have agreed to remove the 10-minute delivery branding and marketing,” a person familiar with the talks said, adding that the decision was aimed at reducing stress on delivery workers while improving overall working conditions.

ANI reported on Tuesday that Blinkit has already acted on the government’s directive and removed the 10-minute delivery promise from its branding. Other quick commerce players are expected to follow suit in the coming days. Companies such as Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The labour ministry’s intervention comes amid heightened scrutiny of gig worker conditions, particularly after more than 200,000 delivery riders across India refused to deliver food, groceries and other orders on New Year’s Eve. The strike, first reported by Bloomberg, saw workers demand better pay, improved safety measures and greater dignity at work, while calling for an end to ultra-fast delivery timelines.

The protests reignited debate over the human cost of speed-driven business models in quick commerce. Critics argue that tight delivery windows can incentivise risky behaviour, including overspeeding and traffic violations, especially in densely populated cities. Delivery platforms, however, have consistently maintained that riders are not formally timed and that delivery estimates are algorithm-driven.

The issue has also raised investor concerns as the government continues discussions around expanding social security coverage for gig and platform workers under India’s new labour codes. Any increase in compliance or benefit costs could materially impact the unit economics of quick commerce and food delivery firms, which are already grappling with thin margins.

India’s gig workforce is projected to grow to 23.5 million by 2030—nearly three times its size a decade earlier—adding urgency to policy efforts aimed at improving worker protections in the fast-growing sector. The government has repeatedly signalled that while innovation and convenience are welcome, they should not come at the expense of worker safety and welfare.

The latest move suggests a shift in regulatory tone, with authorities seeking to temper the speed-first narrative of quick commerce while allowing the sector to continue scaling in a more sustainable manner.