Restricted access | Chapter | First published July 10, 2026 | Part of Sustainable Value Creation: Integrating Marketing and Finance for SDG Achievement

13. GIG ECONOMY IN INDIA: A SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION OF WORKER EXPERIENCE, INEQUALITIES AND SOCIAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORKS

Kamal Krishna1 and Abhinanda Bhattacharya1 | 1Sharda School of Business Studies Sharda University Greater Noida

Sustainable Value Creation: Integrating Marketing and Finance for SDG Achievement  |  https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.67103/IRG.SVC.2026.9788168516441.13

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Abstract

In India, the gig economy has grown exponentially transforming the labour structure they
have created using digital platforms which allow the entry of low-skilled labour with
flexibility. This paper will review the available literature on workers, labour inequality effects,
and suitability of the new regulatory systems by reviewing sixteen peer-reviewed articles,
which were identified and filtered through PRISMA. The evidence suggests that platform
work provides available sources of income but contains structural precarity by way of
unstable income, automated control, and unofficial risk transfer. The issue of gendered and
spatial inequalities continues, and women and rural workers have their own issues
regarding safety, access to the digital world, and unpredictable demand. Although policy
reform has started to embrace the idea of gig workers in the legislative systems, welfare
benefits are still not enforceable, haphazard, and weak in their operations. The conclusion of
the review is that the gig economy in India is a hybrid labour system with flexibility and
insecurity existing simultaneously, and that the sustainable change is the transition of
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regulations to redistribution instead of recognition. Some of the policy suggestions are
compulsory social security, wage floor, Algorithms transparency, and institutionalised worker
representation. Longitudinal and primary field research ought to be at the forefront of
future studies to inform scalable protection and fair platform governance.
Keywords

Gig economy Platform work Labour precarity Social protection

Chapter information

Chapter title GIG ECONOMY IN INDIA: A SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION OF WORKER EXPERIENCE, INEQUALITIES AND SOCIAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORKS
Author(s) Kamal Krishna1 and Abhinanda Bhattacharya1 | 1Sharda School of Business Studies Sharda University Greater Noida
Book title Sustainable Value Creation: Integrating Marketing and Finance for SDG Achievement
Book Doi https://doi.org/10.67103/IRG.SVC.2026.9788168516441
DOI https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.67103/IRG.SVC.2026.9788168516441.13
Publication date July 10, 2026
Access Restricted access
Copyright © 2026 IRG Press. All Rights Reserved

How to cite

Kamal Krishna1 and Abhinanda Bhattacharya1 | 1Sharda School of Business Studies Sharda University Greater Noida. 2026. GIG ECONOMY IN INDIA: A SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION OF WORKER EXPERIENCE, INEQUALITIES AND SOCIAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORKS. In: Sustainable Value Creation: Integrating Marketing and Finance for SDG Achievement. Book Doi https://doi.org/10.67103/IRG.SVC.2026.9788168516441. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.67103/IRG.SVC.2026.9788168516441.13

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