Jan 5, 2023
The future Growth of the Gig Economy in India
What Is The Gig Economy?
The gig economy is a labour marketplace that consists of contractors and freelancers who work on a short-term basis for multiple clients at a time. They provide their skills and services based on contracts and get paid for them. Many industries, such as cleaning services, personal care services, household repairs, vehicle repairs, car or bike driving, food and other delivery services, retail, HR consulting, office, and other home services, employ gig workers.
The gig economy paves the way for a global economic revolution. Digital labour platforms connect skilled workers with employers. It benefits all the stakeholders with an adaptable and flexible work environment. At the same time, it has its own challenges as it upsets traditional relationships between businesses, clients, and workers. Even when then there was global recession, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t hinder the growth of the gig economy.
Gig Workers In India
According to recent reports, the gig workforce is expected to increase by 2025 with an addition of 9-11 million gig workers. More than 58% of employers showed interest in hiring the gig workforce. Surprisingly, the young generation of India shows more interest in taking up short-term contract jobs.
The Taskmo report shows that 40% of the gig workers belong to the age group of 16-23. In the last four years, the number of young workers in the gig economy increased by 8 times. Gig workers are employed in all types of high-skilled, medium-skilled, and low-skilled jobs in multiple industries.
Why Is The Gig Economy’s Growth Important?
Everyone realised the potential of Gig economy during the worldwide COVID restrictions. When jobs can be done remotely and collaboration can be maintained through online communication, gig economy vastly improved. It opens up new opportunities for both businesses and workers. Businesses can eliminate the hassle of hiring and training employees as they can get jobs done on demand. Workers need not relocate or change their lifestyle for their career choices.
Even though the gig economy is set for growth, workers suffer from limited access to jobs. Recent reports show that about 62% don’t have access to available gig jobs, 32% don’t know English to access the open positions, and 10% don’t learn the local language to get gig jobs suitable for them.
India can benefit greatly from the economic transformation if proper support is provided. With digital infrastructure, a favourable population, and easy access to digital services, India can use the gig workforce to position itself as a global leader.
How Can The Government Help With Gig Growth?
The NITI Aayog report shows that by 2029-30, the gig workforce will have a 200% growth from the current 7.7 million. These short-term jobs were once seen as jobs for non-skilled workers. However, 22% of the gig workforce currently works in high-skilled jobs. The demand for high-skilled and low-skilled jobs continues to increase, but the need for medium-skilled jobs is decreasing. gig workers are presently employed in shared services, software, and other professional services.
Experts suggest the following recommendations to support the gig economy in India:
Platformization
Experts urge the importance of the Platform India Initiative to accelerate the creation of job platforms with incentives and funding support. Apart from being a job portal, the gig platform can be connected to other services. The platform can also support the transportation of passengers for their gig jobs. Self-employed individuals connected to the platforms can sell their products and services to wider markets.
Financial Support
New financial products should be introduced to businesses eager to set up such platforms. Banks and financial institutions should create grants, loans, and venture capital funding to support such platform businesses. FinTech businesses are keen on serving underserved markets and supporting inclusion. It will also increase opportunities for people with disabilities and micro-entrepreneurs.
Skill Development
The National Skill Development Corporation and the Ministry of Skill Development should work together to regulate and validate skills. Skill certificates and skill passports can be offered as skill badges that can be added to the online profile.
Social Inclusion
As the gig economy grows, government initiatives must support social security. Access to healthcare and insurance will attract more people to gig jobs. According to Code on Social Security 2020, Occupational Disease and Work Accident Insurance can also be extended. New policies for retirement and pension plans must be introduced. Assured minimum wages and income loss security will ensure that the gig workers are not exploited.
Gig Economy Growth Benefits All Stakeholders
Employers actively respond to millennials and Gen Z workers who prefer gig jobs over traditional full-time office jobs. Gig employees are happy with the financial security of these short-term jobs. Demand for skills will never decrease, and online job matching platforms make it easy for everyone to access available jobs. It offers freedom and flexibility in scheduling, empowering workers. They can also charge based on the complexity of the job, thus allowing them to get what they deserve.
About Tartan
Tartan is a payroll connectivity and full-stack verification API company enabling consent-driven employment and income verification in real-time. We help simplify banking by eliminating reliance on manual processes for income and employment verifications and KYC-related verifications. Tartan also assesses creditworthiness quickly to make accurate risk assessments with over 30+ valid and verified data points.
