Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal shared in a series of posts that over 75 lakh orders were fulfilled across Zomato and Blinkit on New Year’s Eve, marking the highest volume ever for the platforms. More than 4.5 lakh delivery partners completed these orders, serving upwards of 63 lakh customers throughout the day. He noted that local authorities intervened after receiving reports of potential disruptions.
He stated that the record number of deliveries was achieved without offering extra incentives to delivery partners, emphasizing that increased payouts on New Year’s Eve are standard practice and consistent with previous years.
These remarks come in the context of calls from gig worker unions for a nationwide strike on December 31, which demanded better pay, improved working conditions, clearer incentive structures, and access to social security benefits. Additionally, they called for the immediate elimination of the 10-minute delivery model. The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) reported that over 2 lakh delivery workers participated in protests across various platforms.
In the days preceding New Year’s Eve, food delivery and quick commerce platforms provided higher peak-hour incentives due to increased seasonal demand, a move that worker unions argue fails to tackle long-term structural issues.
Addressing concerns related to the 10-minute delivery promises, Goyal explained that Blinkit’s delivery times depend on store density and system design, rather than imposing speed pressure on delivery partners. He clarified that delivery partners do not see customer-facing delivery timelines in their apps.
“Once you place an order on Blinkit, it is picked and packed in about 2.5 minutes. The rider then travels an average distance of under 2kms in approximately 8 minutes. That averages out to about 15kmph,” he wrote.
In a separate message, Goyal expressed the company’s belief that most delivery partners were not interested in joining the strike. He alleged that a small faction attempted to disrupt operations by preventing others from working, which led to interventions from local authorities.
“Who were these riders causing trouble? Primarily those who had been removed from the system for repeated abuses and fraud on the platform. They impersonate, steal food, and abscond with cash collected from customers, among other issues. These individuals are trying to pressure us into reinstating them on the platforms so they can exploit the system for their own benefit,” he further commented.
Goyal acknowledged that while no system is flawless, the company is committed to improving platform operations and reiterated its disagreement with characterizations that suggest delivery timelines are achieved through unsafe practices.
Platforms have asserted that New Year’s Eve operations were largely unaffected, while gig worker unions maintain that their demands remain unresolved, with protests aimed at advocating for regulatory and policy reforms within the platform economy.
