The centre’s new draft rules want gig and platform workers to clock at least 90 days with an employer in a year before they can tap key social security benefits like compensation-linked payouts and some statutory protections.

The move sits under the Social Security Code and is pitched as a way to distinguish regular work from fly-by-night gigs, making it easier to administer benefits and reduce disputes. And it comes amid a revival of a massive debate around the nature of gig work, safety and pay, particularly in the context of quick commerce.

For workers, it means continuity of work will matter much more than before when it comes to accessing any safety net. For companies — especially startups and small businesses that lean on flexible staffing — it raises the bar on record-keeping, digital registrations, and compliance, adding to costs and tightening oversight under the newly operational labour codes.

The Blinkit Flashpoint: Against this policy backdrop, Eternal-owned Blinkit and Zomato found themselves in the eye of a New Year’s Eve storm. Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal posted that both platforms were “unaffected” by a gig workers’ strike and had clocked record orders on December 31.

His subsequent defence of the gig model — calling it one of India’s largest organised job engines — split social media, with critics flagging low pay, safety risks, and pressure-cooker delivery timelines, and supporters citing flexible earning opportunities.

The clash over one night of record orders captures a larger tension: India is simultaneously formalising gig work on paper while arguing over what fairness, dignity, and ambition should look like for the people powering its 10-minute economy.

Labour Codes Finally Bite: These draft rules land just weeks after India’s long-discussed labour codes kicked in nationally on November 21, 2025, folding 29 legacy laws into four broad codes on wages, social security, industrial relations, and workplace safety.

Gig and platform work now has formal recognition in this framework, with aggregators expected to contribute a small share of annual turnover towards social security for these workers.

In theory, this could nudge the gig economy closer to a more structured job market, with clearer entitlements around health insurance, accident cover, and possibly pensions over time. In practice, the real test will be how states implement these norms, how platforms adapt their models, and whether workers actually see tangible improvements on the ground.

Will the proposed rules change anything?

• Indian startups cumulatively bagged $104.2 Mn last week, up 112% from the $49.2 Mn raised in the preceding week. However, deal count remained suppressed as just two deals materialised versus seven in the week before.
• The muted volume is consistent with historical patterns. During the last week of December 2024, Indian startups raised just $25.9 Mn across six deals, underscoring how investors defer funding announcements until Q1 momentum picks up.
• Looking ahead to 2026, funding is expected to rebound selectively rather than uniformly, with capital gravitating toward high-conviction themes including AI, fintech, manufacturing and category-defining consumer and B2B startups.

• The D2C skincare brand’s net loss widened 32.5% YoY to INR 72.7 Cr in FY25, while operating revenue surged 138.7% YoY to INR 198.7 Cr during the fiscal under review.
• The bottom line took a hit as aggressive expansion drove proportionately higher cash burn across customer acquisition, inventory build-up, and team scaling. Expenses more than doubled YoY to INR 278.9 Cr.
• Founded in 2021, Foxtale counts more than 20 SKUs under its belt, spanning serums, masks, moisturisers, sunscreens, and face washes. Having raised $66 Mn so far, Foxtale claims to have served over 15 Lakh customers to date.

• Indian new-age tech stocks ended last week of 2025 on a mixed note. 24 startup stocks under Inc42’’s coverage ended last week with gains in the range of 0.25% to over 20%, while the remaining 26 declined between 0.34% and just under 10%.
• Nazara, Ola Electric and Honasa emerged as the biggest winners, while Zelio, Meesho and DroneAcharya shed the most.
• The split performance suggested that markets were cherry-picking winners based on near-term catalysts, upcoming Q3 earnings results and regulatory tailwinds. Meanwhile, startups facing execution concerns and pressures were punished by investors.

• The unified payments interface (UPI) closed 2025 with over 22,000 Cr transactions worth INR 299.76 Lakh Cr, cementing its position as the backbone of India’s real-time digital payments.
• As usual, PhonePe and Google Pay retained their duopoly. Simultaneously smaller players like Paytm, Navi, CRED and Flipkart-backed super.money also kept increasing their market share.
• However, the year also saw multiple brief outages that sparked concerns about system resilience. As a result, fintechs sought an MDR regime, seeking monetisation avenues to keep up with maintenance costs amid ballooning infrastructure demands.

• The D2C personal care brand saw its operating revenue soar 105% YoY to INR 408.3 Cr in FY25. However, the revenue sprint came at a steep cost: consolidated net loss ballooned 2.6X YoY to INR 68.7 Cr.
• The surge in top line came on the back of Pilgrim’ aggressive expansion across online and offline channels. This was offset by total expenses more than doubling YoY to INR 486.4 Cr in FY25.
• Founded in 2019, Pilgrim sells a range of haircare, skincare, makeup, and fragrance products, positioning its offerings as clean, vegan, and toxin-free. Besides presence in over 300 partner stores, it also launched a salon professional division in April this year to crack the B2B segment.

India’s self-employed workforce (58% of the total) earns in irregular bursts, not predictable monthly cycles. Yet every savings product in the market demands the steady cash flow of a salaried job. This structural mismatch leaves millions locked out of wealth creation because the system was not built for how they earn.

Built For Erratic Earnings: Founded in 2024, Bachatt addresses this exclusion with a daily savings platform tailored for the self-employed. Users can invest as little as INR 51 a day or INR 1,001 a week via UPI. Registered with AMFI, Bachatt channels low-ticket investments into low-risk debt products, prioritising consistency and habit-building over yield.

Early Validation: Backed by Lightspeed India and InfoEdge Ventures, Bachatt claims to have so far onboarded 10 Lakh users on its platform. It currently boasts INR 50 Cr in assets under management. With an eye on helping India’s ‘unbankable’ workforce save, the startup is eyeing a piece of the broader homegrown fintech market, which is projected to reach $2.1 Tn by 2030.

But can Bachatt’s micro-savings model scale into a sustainable business model, or will unit economics demand a pivot to cross-selling credit and insurance?

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