Blinkit Drops ‘10-Minute Delivery’ Claim After Govt Push

Eternal’s quick commerce arm Blinkit has removed “10-minute delivery” claim from its platform after an intervention by the Union labour ministry over concerns around delivery workers’ safety and working conditions.

Blinkit has updated its tagline, which now says “10,000+ products delivered to your doorstep”, instead of promising delivery within 10 minutes. 

ET was first to report on the development.

This comes after the labour ministry held a meeting with senior leaders of Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy and Zomato to discuss delivery timelines and the pressure faced by gig workers, according to news agency ANI. The ministry asked quick commerce companies to stop using ‘10-minute delivery’ in their taglines. Swiggy and Zepto are also expected to stop using 10-minute delivery.

Labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya is said to have urged companies to remove strict delivery deadlines that could put delivery partners at risk.

The move follows growing scrutiny of the quick commerce model. A nationwide strike by gig workers on December 25 and 31 last month brought back attention to issues around safety, pay and working conditions of gig workers. 

During the Winter Session of the Parliament, AAP MP Raghav Chadha called for a ban on 10-minute deliveries and tighter rules for app-based delivery platforms. He said ultra-fast delivery targets often lead to unsafe working conditions on the ground.

Chadha held a meeting with some delivery workers of quick commerce platforms on December 31, and was also recently seen riding with Blinkit delivery partners to highlight the situation they work in. 

New Year’s Eve Strike Puts Spotlight On Blinkit

Notably, Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal publicly defended Blinkit and Zomato following the gig workers strike on December 31. He also said that the company’s operations were not impacted by the strike and its platforms recorded their highest-ever activity on New Year’s Eve.

In posts on social media platform X, Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit together delivered over 75 Lakh orders to 63 Lakh users through a network of 4.5 Lakh delivery partners. He claimed the number of orders per minute was the highest in the company’s history.

Defending payouts of gig workers, Goyal said the average earnings per hour for a Zomato delivery partner in 2025 stood at INR 102, excluding tips, up from INR 92 in 2024. He added that delivery partners earn a net average of INR 21,000 per month by working 10 hours a day for 26 days.

Goyal also pushed back against calls for full-time employee benefits, saying gig work is designed as a flexible, secondary income model. According to him, the average delivery partner worked only 38 days in 2025, while just 2.3% of the total workforce working more than 250 days in the year.

On safety concerns linked to 10-minute deliveries, Goyal said the average distance per Blinkit order was 2.03 km, with an average driving time of nearly eight minutes, implying speeds well below overspeeding limits.

Info Edge founder and Eternal shareholder Sanjeev Bikhchandani came out in Goyal’s support, saying discussions around delivery partner welfare and fair compensation take up a significant amount of time at Eternal’s board meetings.

Eternal also claimed that it spent over INR 100 Cr on insurance coverage for delivery partners in 2025.

It is pertinent to note that the Centre notified labour reforms late last year, bringing them into effect from November 21, 2025. The labour codes replaced 29 central labour laws with a consolidated framework to formalise employment, widen social security coverage and update workplace norms. Under these, gig workers are eligible for schemes like PF, ESI and insurance under the social security fund. 

The government has proposed insurance for those gig workers who have worked at least 90 days with one platform of 120 days across multiple platforms, along with e-Shram portal registration.