India Weighs 2% Gig Worker Welfare Levy as Platforms Dispute How to Calculate It

A proposed safety net for 12 million workers

India is considering a 2% levy on transactions handled by digital platforms to finance social security for more than 12 million gig and platform workers, with a possible launch in 2027. The proposed first benefits include life and disability insurance, accident insurance, health coverage and maternity benefits.

The National Social Security Board for Gig and Platform Workers, notified by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on October 30, 2026, is expected to settle the scheme's framework. A meeting was expected in the second half of November 2026, although no exact meeting date or confirmed launch date was given.

Under the proposal, aggregators would provide all the money through the Social Security Fund. Workers and the central government would make no contribution. Aggregators are businesses that connect customers with people providing services, such as a driver accepting a ride through an app or a courier delivering an order.

The central dispute concerns the amount to which the 2% rate would apply. Charging a percentage of an entire customer transaction can produce a very different bill from charging the same percentage of the revenue a platform keeps. Delivery companies and transport platforms have advocated different approaches.

For workers, the proposal could provide financial help when an accident, illness or pregnancy interrupts their ability to earn. Pension and provident fund benefits, which build support for later life, could follow in a later phase rather than at the scheme's launch.

Why the calculation matters as much as the rate

Officials involved in the discussions favour linking contributions to gig revenue associated with individual transactions, rather than applying a levy indiscriminately to a company's total turnover. The stated aim is to prevent one category of aggregator from subsidising another because their businesses record revenue differently.

Food delivery and quick commerce companies, including Zomato and Swiggy, have favoured using the value of transactions conducted through their platforms. Uber and Rapido have favoured using their own turnover instead of the full value of rides.

Transport platforms argue that most of a fare goes to the driver. A charge on the whole fare would therefore include money the platform does not retain. Delivery businesses have supported a broader transaction value approach, reflecting differences in how their operations earn and record income.

A transaction levy and a levy on gig revenue are therefore not automatically the same calculation. The final framework will need to specify which part of a payment counts: the full customer payment, the platform's retained revenue, or another defined amount connected to the service.

For the fund, that definition will determine how much money comes in. For platforms, it will determine how contributions compare across delivery, transport and other services. A common percentage can produce unequal financial burdens when it is applied to different revenue bases.

How the proposal fits the Social Security Code

The Code on Social Security, 2020, provides the legal framework for recognising gig and platform workers and creating welfare schemes for them. Its aggregator contribution formula is described as 1% to 2% of annual turnover, subject to a ceiling of 5% of the amount payable to gig and platform workers.

The ceiling matters because it limits the contribution by reference to worker payments, even when a turnover calculation would produce a larger amount. The proposed 2% rate sits at the upper end of the stated range, while the discussions over transactions concern the base used to calculate it.

Jasmine Jothi K of the VIT School of Law examines these issues in an academic analysis of contributions published by the Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research. The paper describes the contribution rate and commencement date as unspecified at the time of writing and says no scheme under section 114 was then operational.

The paper also identifies heavy reliance on information supplied by platforms themselves. It recommends a precise contribution base, a minimum payout requirement, protection and public monitoring of fund money, and consistency in state taxes. Those recommendations focus on two practical tasks: collecting the correct amount and ensuring workers receive useful support.

What workers could receive first

The proposed initial package concentrates on life and disability cover, accident insurance, health benefits and maternity support. These address events that can leave a worker facing medical expenses, lost income or a family's loss of its main earner.

A senior government official involved in the discussions described the scheme as nearly ready and indicated that implementation could begin in 2027. Pension, provident fund and other protection for old age could be introduced later, once the government has greater confidence about how long workers remain in gig employment.

The wider Code allows a broader menu of schemes, including protection in old age and crèche facilities. It also envisages funding from central and state governments, corporate social responsibility contributions and certain fines. The plan now being considered would use aggregator contributions alone.

Benefit amounts, detailed coverage conditions and the claims process have yet to be specified. Those decisions will determine what assistance a worker or family can actually obtain after an accident, illness, disability or death.

Who would qualify and how benefits could follow workers

The eligibility rules described for the scheme require at least 90 days of work with one aggregator during a financial year, or a combined 120 days across multiple platforms. A worker using several apps would therefore face a longer qualifying period than someone working through one.

India's registration framework envisages an Aadhaar linked Universal Account Number. This would give workers a continuing identity for accessing benefits, including when they move between states. Platforms would work with the government to register workers.

Registration and work records would have to function together. A person switching between delivery and transport apps, for example, would need qualifying activity across platforms to be counted toward the combined threshold. The boards' duties include reviewing records maintained at state level.

Provident fund coverage for employees follows a different route. The Code extends Employees' Provident Fund Organisation provisions to establishments employing 20 or more employees, regardless of industry type. For gig workers under the proposed scheme, provident fund support remains among the benefits being considered for a later stage.

Who will oversee the fund?

Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chairs the 22 member gig and platform workers board, with the Union Labour Secretary serving as vice chairman. Its membership includes five aggregator representatives and five worker representatives, alongside other members.

Companies represented include Eternal, the parent of Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Urban Company and Rapido. Worker organisations represented include the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and the National Front of Indian Trade Unions.

The government also constituted a separate board of 40 members for unorganised workers. That board includes seven worker representatives and seven employer representatives. Both boards have terms of three years and must meet at least three times annually.

The boards recommend schemes to the central government, monitor welfare programmes, review fund expenditure and advise on administration of the Code. Their responsibilities also extend to examining record keeping at state level. These functions place both the financing and delivery of benefits within their remit.

Worker representation faces criticism

All India Trade Union Congress general secretary Amarjeet Kaur criticised the boards' composition as tilted toward the Union government and organisations close to the ruling party. She said her union had been asked to submit nominations but had not secured representation.

Kaur also said a verification exercise based on union membership in 2011 had been stopped without publication of its results. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions has challenged the exclusion of several recognised unions, while criticism has also focused on limited representation for opposition governed states.

Sudip Dutta, national president of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said the organisation would challenge the composition with the government and in Parliament:

We are going to write to the Labour Minister and raise it in the parliament too,

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh vice president Pawan Kumar said his union wanted an early meeting so it could present its welfare proposals. Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers co-founder Shaik Salauddin said the board's success would be measured by benefits reaching workers and their families.

The disagreement concerns who helps shape contribution rules, eligibility and spending priorities. Platforms will participate in discussions about their own payments, while worker representatives will be expected to press for coverage and accessible benefits.

A workforce approaching twice its current size

India's gig workforce reached about 12 million in 2025-26, compared with 7.7 million in 2020-21. The increase is approximately 4.3 million workers, or roughly 55%, and the group now accounts for more than 2% of the workforce.

NITI Aayog projects 23.5 million gig workers by 2029-30, representing 6.7% of the workforce. Compared with the 12 million estimate for 2025-26, that would mean another 11.5 million workers, an increase of about 96%.

Economic projections accompanying the proposal put the sector's contribution to gross domestic product by 2029-30 at ₹2.35 lakh crore, while another cited estimate is ₹2.25 lakh crore. Those amounts equal ₹2.35 trillion and ₹2.25 trillion respectively. Gross domestic product measures the value of goods and services produced in an economy.

The government has separately claimed that social security coverage across the population rose from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025, covering around 940 million people. The proposed gig worker scheme addresses a more specific task: creating defined benefits, funding and registration arrangements for people working through platforms.

The dates shaping the next decisions

The scheme has developed through a legal framework, new administrative bodies and negotiations over funding. The next decisions concern the contribution formula and benefit package, followed by the rules needed to operate them.

• 2020: The Code on Social Security established a legal framework recognising gig and platform workers.
• 2025-26: India's gig workforce was estimated at about 12 million, up from 7.7 million in 2020-21.
• October 30, 2026: The Labour Ministry notified the two National Social Security Boards.
• Second half of November 2026: A gig worker board meeting was expected to consider the scheme's framework.
• 2027: The proposed scheme could begin, according to a senior government official involved in the discussions.
• 2029-30: NITI Aayog projects a gig workforce of 23.5 million.

The central decision is how to turn platform activity into a dependable stream of welfare funding. A defined contribution base, records that count work across apps and a functioning claims process will connect the levy paid by companies to assistance received by workers.

Key Points

• India is considering a 2% levy to fund benefits for more than 12 million gig and platform workers.
• The proposed scheme would be financed entirely by aggregators, with a possible launch in 2027.
• Delivery and transport platforms favour different ways of calculating contributions.
• Initial benefits could include life, disability, accident, health and maternity protection.
• Eligibility would require 90 days with one aggregator or 120 days across multiple platforms in a financial year.
• The gig worker board has 22 members and is chaired by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
• Pension and provident fund support could follow later.