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Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal on Thursday pushed back against what he called “vested narratives,” saying allegations of exploitation of gig workers do not reflect ground realities.
His comments follow a record New Year’s Eve for Zomato and Blinkit, which together delivered more than 7.5 million orders, the highest daily volume ever for the platforms.
In an article on X, Goyal said criticism of fast deliveries often stems from a lack of understanding of the underlying system. “I understand why everyone thinks a 10-minute delivery must put lives at risk, because it’s hard to imagine the complexity of the system design that allows for fast deliveries,” he said.
Goyal also acknowledged that the model is not without flaws, but argued that the portrayal on social media is misleading. “No system is perfect, and we are all in favor of making it better than today’s. However, it is far from what is portrayed on social media by people who do not understand how our system works and why,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Goyal said Zomato and its fast commerce arm Blinkit recorded their highest-ever delivery volumes on New Year’s Eve, highlighting what he described as voluntary participation by gig workers. In an article on
Delivery in 10 minutes
Goyal responded to criticism over Blinkit’s highly controversial 10-minute delivery promise, which labor groups and safety advocates say encourages reckless driving. Dismissing the claim, he said the model was based on store density rather than speed. “Our 10-minute delivery promise is made possible by the density of stores around you. It’s not made possible by asking delivery partners to drive fast,” he said.
He further clarified that delivery partners do not see any countdown. “Delivery partners don’t even have a timer on their app to indicate the initial time promised to the customer,” he said.
Explaining the logistics, Goyal said orders are usually prepared and packed in about 2.5 minutes, after which riders cover less than two kilometers in about eight minutes, implying an average speed of about 15 kmph.
Misunderstanding of the system
Acknowledging public concern about security, Goyal said criticism often stems from a misunderstanding of how fast trading systems are designed. “I understand why everyone thinks that 10 minutes must risk lives, because it is indeed difficult to imagine the complexity of the system design that allows rapid deliveries,” he wrote.
He wrote: “A thought for everyone: If a system were fundamentally unfair, it would not systematically attract and retain as many people who choose to work in it,” Goyal said, warning against “narratives pushed by special interests.”
He urged critics to speak directly with delivery partners to understand their motivations. “If you ever wanted to know why millions of Indians willingly take up platform work and sometimes even prefer it over regular jobs, just ask any travel partner when you will receive your next food or grocery order,” he said, adding, “You will be honored to see how rational and honest they will be with you.”
He had written earlier that the increase in deliveries had occurred without any additional incentives beyond what is typically offered on New Year’s Eve. “More than 4.5 million delivery partners showed up for work,” he said, calling the scale of the turnout “significant” and rejecting claims that the strike reflected widespread discontent.
No system is perfect
While defending the platform model, Goyal acknowledged that improvements were needed. “No system is perfect, and we are all in favor of making it better than today’s,” he said, adding that the gig economy is “far from what it is portrayed on social media by people who don’t understand how our system works and why.”
“If I were outside of the system, I would also believe that gig workers are being exploited, but that’s not true,” he added.
Small group at play
In another article, Goyal claimed that the strike disruptions were the work of a small group rather than all workers. He wrote: “Most of our delivery partners did not want to strike yesterday. The 0.1% of miscreants I mentioned in the tweet below were illegally snatching packages from those who wanted to work, beating them up and threatening to damage their bikes. That’s why local legal authorities had to intervene on their own.”
He further claimed, “So who were these passengers who were creating these problems? Largely those who have been fired by the system for repeated abuse and fraud on the platform… These individuals want to twist our arms to let them return to the platforms… and are perhaps supported and instigated by politically motivated individuals who simply want to cause chaos to get media mileage.
Goyal’s comments come amid increased scrutiny of gig-work conditions, even as platforms say scale, flexibility and choice continue to attract workers across India.
