Zomato defends ‘karma’ system amid scrutiny of gig worker practices

India’s fast-growing food delivery and quick commerce sectors have come under renewed scrutiny following public comments by Zomato founder and group chief executive officer Deepinder Goyal on how the company manages delivery partners and resolves disputes.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by entrepreneur Raj Shamani, Goyal said Zomato and its quick commerce arm Blinkit together work with between 700,000 and 800,000 monthly active delivery partners. Around 150,000 to 200,000 new riders are onboarded every month, reflecting what he described as the largely transient and part-time nature of gig work in the sector.

Against this backdrop, Goyal said the company terminates about 5,000 delivery partners each month. He rejected claims that such exits amount to arbitrary firings, describing them instead as routine enforcement in a large workforce with high turnover. “Most of it is part-time,” he said, adding that many delivery partners work for short periods before leaving voluntarily.

According to Goyal, terminations are typically triggered by repeated misuse rather than isolated errors. He cited examples such as orders being marked as delivered without reaching customers, food being consumed by riders, or abuse of cash-on-delivery payments, including failure to return correct change.

To handle disputes, Zomato relies on what Goyal described as a reputation or “karma” system that tracks the historical behaviour of both customers and delivery partners. He acknowledged that determining fault is often complex and that the platform is not always able to reach a definitive conclusion.

“We can never be fully right,” Goyal said, noting that in an estimated 50 to 70 per cent of disputed cases, the company absorbs the financial loss because responsibility cannot be clearly established. He said action is taken only when patterns of misuse are clear and repeated. “When the mismatch is very stark, and patterns repeat, then we take a call,” he said.

Goyal also addressed concerns that rapid delivery timelines in quick commerce compromise rider safety. He denied that delivery partners are pressured to drive faster to meet ten-minute delivery promises, saying speed is driven by store density and shorter travel distances rather than rider behaviour.

“Ten-minute delivery is not enabled by asking people to drive fast,” he said. According to Goyal, Blinkit’s average packing time is under two minutes, and delivery partners are contacted by the company only when delays occur repeatedly. “Otherwise, there is zero human pressure,” he added.

On worker welfare, Goyal said Zomato provides accident and health insurance to delivery partners. In cases of fatal road accidents, he said insurance payouts are at least 1 million rupees, with additional support such as education assistance or employment opportunities for dependants assessed individually.

Goyal also defended the company’s broader gig work model in a post on the social media platform X, where he said delivery partners earned an average of 102 rupees per hour in 2025, up from 92 rupees the previous year. He said the calculation includes the total time a worker is logged into the platform, including waiting periods between orders.

He added that delivery partners have flexibility over working hours, keep 100 per cent of customer tips and are not pushed into unsafe driving practices. Goyal said average driving speeds are estimated at 16 kilometres per hour for Blinkit orders and 21 kilometres per hour for Zomato food deliveries.

On social security measures, Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit spent around 1 billion rupees on insurance coverage for delivery partners in 2025. He also pointed to additional support, including rest days for women delivery partners, assistance with income tax filing and access to a gig-oriented version of the National Pension System.

“Now tell me, is this unfair? Especially for an unskilled job, which is largely part-time and has zero barriers to entry,” Goyal wrote.

Counter-claims from worker groups have challenged these assertions. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Association said that once expenses such as fuel and vehicle maintenance are deducted, net earnings fall to about 81 rupees per hour. The group said this would amount to roughly 21,000 rupees a month for a delivery partner working ten hours a day for 26 days.

The association also disputed claims around social security, saying delivery partners do not receive paid leave, provident fund benefits or adequate accident cover. It argued that while companies may deny pressuring workers to deliver quickly, ratings, penalties and the risk of losing future orders can strongly influence delivery behaviour.

The group further highlighted low tipping levels, estimating that tips average about 2.6 rupees per hour, with only around five per cent of orders including tips. “This is not decent work,” the association said.

Context

The debate reflects wider tensions in India’s gig economy, where platform companies argue that flexibility and low barriers to entry benefit workers, while labour groups call for stronger protections and clearer standards on pay, safety and social security. As food delivery and quick commerce continue to expand, the balance between growth, efficiency and worker welfare remains a central policy and public concern.