Prelims Bits » Gig Economy

Gig Economy

Why in the News?

IN AN effort to boost the participation of women in the gig economy, NITI Aayog has proposed that fiscal incentives should be offered to companies in which women and people with disabilities make up about a third of employees.

1.About

  • Gig workers are temporary workers who are engaged in livelihoods outside the traditional employer-employee arrangement. 

  • Gig workers can Be Broadly Classified into platform and non-platform workers: 

    • Platform workers are those whose work is based on online apps or digital platforms, while 

    • Non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers working part-or full-time.

  • Delivery boys,app-based taxi drivers,service providers such as cleaners and technicians, and freelance workers are all part of the gig economy. 

  • In a new report,India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work, described as the first of its kind, NITI Aayog has said that social security measures such as income support,paid sick leave, insurance, and pensions should be extended to people working for platform companies such as Swiggy, Zomato,Ola,orUber.

  • The report notes that female labour force participation in India has been between 16 and 23 per cent over the last few years. Persons with disabilities have a labour force participation rate of 36 percent. 

  • “Structural barriers like access to education and lack of skilling have hindered participation of the two demographic groups in the country’s labour force,” 

  • “Fiscal incentives such as tax breaks or start-up grants may be provided for businesses that provide livelihood opportunities where women constitute a substantial portion (say, 30%) of their workers. Likewise, a platform with high accessibility or high degree of participation of PwDs toomay be rewarded with fiscal incentives.”