The new labour reforms, coupled with intervention from the Union Ministry of Labour, seemed to have had an effect on the country’s quick commerce majors. Earlier on Tuesday, Blinkit, sibling firm of Zomato and unit of stock market-listed Eternal, reportedly removed its claim of ten-minute delivery from its platform. Multiple users have reported that Zepto has also removed its ten-minute claim. Swiggy Instamart, however, in its app still showed either eight or ten-minute delivery in its ETA on many locations. All three are yet to come up with official announcements on the same.
Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had been pushing these q-comm giants to remove the ten-minute deadline, according to an ET report citing sources in the know.
The year began on a sour note in the quick commerce sector after a nationwide gig worker’s strike during New Year’s Eve snowballed into a larger conversation that the Centre took note of.
Following this, representatives from Eternal, Swiggy, Zepto, and similar players were called in for a meeting to discuss worker safety and delivery schedules, agencies reported.
Quick commerce’s 10-minute promise DOES NOT put pressure on gig workers, and it DOESN’T lead to unsafe driving. Why? (3/5)
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 2, 2026
The most common concern is that faster delivery promises translate into pressure on delivery partners to drive unsafely. That isn’t how the system operates.…
On Monday, Zepto issued a clarification regarding a delivery executive who was killed in an accident in Hyderabad. This confirmation came after CCTV footage of the January 5 incident went viral on social media. In their official statement, Zepto stressed: "We would like to clarify that the individual mentioned was not associated with Zepto, and was not delivering for Zepto at the time of the accident. This has been confirmed through thorough database checks, facial recognition, and CCTV reviews across our store network. We are fully cooperating with the Mehdipatnam Police Station and have submitted our findings to rectify the initial misconception."
The viral video invited public outcry on the work conditions of gig workers. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) also flagged the issue, raising concern over delivery timelines and a lack of timely support for the deceased gig worker.
This also comes just ten days after Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal shared a five-point statement on X defending the gig industry model.
Goyal stressed that "delivery partners are not overworked on our platforms" and went on to say that the ten-minute delivery promise did not put pressure on gig workers. "In 2025, the average distance travelled per order on Blinkit was 2.03 km. Average driving time was ~8 minutes, which implies an average speed of ~16 km/h," he had then clarified.
Given that market leaders like Goyal defended the ten-minute delivery less than two weeks ago, it remains to be seen what urged Blinkit to lead the change and drop its ten-minute delivery claim.
The tagline does not read "10,000+ products delivered in 10 minutes" anymore. It is now simply: "30,000+ products delivered at your doorstep."
