The ongoing national debate around the rights and working conditions of India's gig economy workforce has intensified, with prominent business leaders taking strong public stands. Info Edge co-founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani has firmly backed Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal's recent defense of the gig-worker model, in a sharp rebuke to its critics.
Bikhchandani's Blunt Support on Social Media
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Naukri.com, took to the social media platform X to endorse a series of posts made by Deepinder Goyal. Bikhchandani hailed Goyal's writing as "very well written" and stated that "every word is true." He then launched a scathing attack on certain critics of the gig economy model.
In his post, Bikhchandani targeted what he termed "Champagne Socialists," specifically referencing those who enjoy lavish lifestyles while criticizing companies over the alleged exploitation of delivery partners. "It beggars belief that a Champagne Socialist who married a film star and had a designer wedding in Udaipur and a first wedding anniversary in Maldives has the audacity to then shed crocodile tears around alleged exploitation of gig workers. Aam Aadmi my foot," he wrote.
The Context: Strike and Political Intervention
This exchange between industry leaders did not occur in a vacuum. It comes just days after MP Raghav Chadha offered to mediate between food delivery platforms and their workers. This offer was made against the backdrop of a strike called by gig workers' unions on 31 December 2025.
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union had announced a nationwide strike for New Year's Eve, urging all app-based workers to log off and abstain from providing services. Their goal was to collectively press for demands related to their rights, welfare, and dignity.
In his comments, Raghav Chadha stressed that delivery persons must be treated with dignity and not as robots. He emphasized that these workers are the "backbone of billion-dollar companies and invisible wheels driving the Digital India initiative."
Deepinder Goyal's Defense of the Gig Model
Prior to Bikhchandani's endorsement, Zomato's Deepinder Goyal had penned detailed posts on X, spanning two days, to explain and defend the gig economy framework. He argued that the often-debated promise of 10-minute delivery is only feasible in areas with a high density of stores near residential complexes.
In a significant post on 2 January, Goyal presented a philosophical take. He stated that the gig economy has, for the first time on a massive scale, brought the economically disadvantaged into the direct view of the more affluent. "Suddenly, the poor aren’t hidden away. They’re at your doorstep: the delivery partner handing over your Rs1000+ biryani, late-night groceries, or quick-commerce essentials," he wrote.
Goyal further described the visible realities of their work: "You see them in the rain, heat, traffic, often on borrowed bikes, working 8–10 hours for earnings that give them sustenance. You see their exhaustion, their polite smile masking frustration with life in general." His posts aimed to frame the discussion around visibility and the creation of earning opportunities.
The public alignment of a veteran internet entrepreneur like Bikhchandani with Goyal's viewpoint adds a new dimension to the debate. It sets the stage for a continued clash between the perspectives of platform companies, the demands of workers' unions, and the role of political mediators in shaping the future of India's growing gig economy.
