‘If the gig economy stops, millions will lose their income’: CEO slams politicians on job creation amid raging debate

As the debate around gig worker rights and rapid delivery models intensifies on social media, Jasveer Singh, co-founder and CEO of KnotDating, has entered the fray with a strong defense of India’s gig economy and its founders.

In an article on Targeting Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha by name, Singh asked how many jobs elected leaders themselves have created, comparing that with the millions of livelihoods supported by gig platforms.

“If the gig economy shuts down today, millions of people will lose their income overnight,” Singh wrote, warning that calls to rein in or dismantle the model ignore the immediate employment reality facing India. He says private founders – often backed by foreign capital – have stepped in to fill the void left by insufficient job creation in the public sector.

Singh challenged critics of the 10-minute delivery model to answer a fundamental question: Where would these jobs go if such platforms were shut down tomorrow? “India has a huge jobs problem,” he said, adding that gig work, despite its flaws, currently provides income to millions of people who have few alternatives.

The KnotDating CEO also criticized what he described as “outrage politics,” accusing politicians of positioning themselves as the saviors of gig workers without having built systems that generate jobs at scale. He argued that while delivery partners deserve security, dignity and predictable income, these goals cannot be achieved by threatening the underlying economic models that support livelihoods.

On concerns that super-fast delivery encourages reckless driving, Singh countered by citing public statements by Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal. He noted that speed is achieved through dense networks of dark stores located close to consumers, not reckless travel. Delivery drivers, he explained, typically travel less than a mile at moderate speeds, miss delivery times and benefit from efficient picking and packing processes.

Singh stressed that participation in the gig economy is voluntary, emphasizing that workers join because they need income in a market with limited options. If political leaders truly care about workers, he argued, they should focus on large-scale job creation and social security frameworks rather than headline-grabbing attacks on private platforms.

In his closing speech, Singh called on politicians to stop “chasing founders for applause” and instead focus their efforts on creating jobs. He also paid tribute to entrepreneurs such as Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, crediting them with building institutions that have supported employment for decades.