India’s quick commerce platforms are ending their 10-minute delivery promises after government intervention. Learn why the Labour Minister stepped in and what this change means for delivery workers and online shoppers.
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What Happened to Your 10-Minute Deliveries?
If you have been ordering groceries from Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, or Zomato, you might have noticed something different. These apps used to promise that your order would arrive at your door within just 10 minutes. Now, that bold claim has disappeared from their websites and mobile apps. This sudden change happened in January 2026 after the Indian government stepped in. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held meetings with these major quick commerce companies and asked them to stop promoting the 10-minute delivery service.
But here is the important question: What is so wrong with super-fast delivery? The answer lies in a difficult truth that many people did not know. Behind those 10-minute promises lies a hidden story of stressed workers risking their lives every single day.
Understanding the 10-Minute Delivery Promise
To understand why this is such a big deal, you need to first know what made these companies so special. A few years ago, grocery shopping meant going to a physical store or waiting days for your online order to arrive. Then companies like Blinkit and Zepto changed everything by promising to deliver your groceries in just 10 minutes.
Imagine needing milk, bread, or snacks for dinner. Instead of going to the market, you could open an app, place an order, and have it delivered faster than you can walk to a nearby shop. These companies used small warehouses located close to homes, called dark stores. These stores were stocked with everyday items. Delivery workers would pick items from these stores and rush to deliver them to customers on their two-wheelers.
The 10-minute promise became a huge marketing tool. Companies put it everywhere, from advertisements to social media posts. This speed became the main reason people downloaded these apps. The quick commerce market in India grew at an incredible pace, with these platforms becoming billion-dollar businesses.
Why the Labour Minister Said Stop
The Labour Minister did not make this decision without good reason. For months, delivery workers across India had been complaining about the pressure and danger they faced. The 10-minute promise sounded great for customers, but for the workers making it happen, it meant something very different. It meant riding fast through crowded city streets. It meant breaking traffic rules. It meant ignoring their own safety.
On December 25 and 31, 2025, delivery workers organized nationwide strikes. About 40,000 workers from Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart stopped working to protest their working conditions. They demanded fair wages, better safety measures, and an end to the 10-minute delivery promise. Worker unions, including the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, made it clear that these ultra-fast delivery targets were harming their members.
Union leaders said that the pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines was literally costing lives. They pointed to several accidents and deaths that could be traced back to workers rushing to meet delivery targets. This pushed the government to finally take action.
The Hidden Cost: What Delivery Workers Really Face
The workers who deliver your groceries face challenges that most customers never see. These riders work on two-wheelers, often in harsh weather conditions. They have to navigate through heavy traffic to meet strict time limits. Many of them have suffered accidents.
One worker told news media that he had been in two accidents while working for a delivery platform. His leg was fractured twice. Another rider said he fainted while delivering during extreme heat. These are not rare incidents. Many delivery workers have reported similar experiences.
The pressure comes from several sources. First, the apps have a rating system. If a delivery is late, it damages the worker’s rating. A low rating means fewer job opportunities and less money. Second, the companies offer incentives for fast deliveries. The faster you deliver, the more you earn. This encourages workers to break speed limits and ignore traffic rules.
A global survey by the International Labour Organization found that 89 percent of delivery workers reported safety concerns related to their work. In India, some estimates suggest that over 70 percent of gig workers admit to breaking traffic rules to meet delivery targets.
The physical toll is not the only problem. Mental health suffers too. Workers experience constant stress, anxiety, and burnout from the pressure of working long hours with unrealistic deadlines. Many lack access to basic health insurance or accident coverage. If they get injured or become sick, they have no safety net.
What About Your Shopping Experience?
Many customers are now wondering what this change means for them. Will groceries take much longer to arrive? Will shopping become less convenient?
The good news is that delivery times might not change as much as you think. The companies say that the 10-minute delivery model was possible mainly because of where they built their dark stores, not because workers were driving dangerously fast. These small warehouses are located very close to customers’ homes in densely populated urban areas. So, in many cases, deliveries can still happen quite quickly without workers having to rush or break rules.
Blinkit, for example, has changed its marketing from promising 10-minute delivery to calling itself India’s fastest app. Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also updating their advertisements to focus on convenience rather than specific time promises.
The reality is that most customers probably will not see much change in their day-to-day experience. Groceries will still arrive much faster than traditional online shopping. Instead of 10 minutes, you might get it in 20 or 30 minutes in most cases. For situations where dark stores are very close by, fast delivery might still happen naturally without putting workers at risk.
How Companies Responded
After the Labour Minister met with platform executives, all the major quick commerce companies agreed to remove the 10-minute delivery promise from their official branding and advertising. This was not a forced ban, but a voluntary decision after government pressure.
Blinkit was the first to act. The company changed its tagline from “10,000 plus products delivered in 10 minutes” to “30,000 plus products delivered at your doorstep.” This shift removes the specific time commitment while keeping the focus on convenience.
Zepto and Swiggy also agreed to remove delivery time guarantees from their marketing materials, their apps, and social media. Zomato, which owns Blinkit, accepted the government’s request. These companies promised to update their branding across all platforms.
It is important to note that there is no formal ban on fast delivery. If a dark store is very close to your home, items might still arrive in 10 minutes. What has changed is that the companies are no longer advertising this as a guarantee. They are no longer pushing workers to meet unrealistic time targets.
A Turning Point for Worker Rights
This decision represents something bigger than just removing a marketing slogan. It marks the first time the government has stepped in to protect gig workers in India’s quick commerce industry. Worker unions have welcomed this move as a significant victory for worker safety and dignity.
The government is also working on larger changes. In November 2025, India implemented new labour codes that recognize gig workers as a separate category with rights to social security. These companies are now required to contribute between 1 and 2 percent of worker wages, capped at 5 percent of total payments, to a government-managed Social Security Fund. This fund will help provide benefits like health insurance, accident coverage, and pension contributions.
However, worker advocates point out that much more work remains to be done. The actual benefits, how workers will access them, and how much workers will receive are still not fully clear. State governments have to design the specific schemes. Worker unions want stronger protections, including recognition as employees rather than independent contractors.
What This Means for the Future
This change signals that India’s quick commerce industry is entering a new phase. The era of competing solely on speed at any cost appears to be ending. Instead, platforms will have to find ways to remain competitive while respecting worker safety and well-being.
Several important changes might follow. Companies may invest more in technology and automation to speed up their operations without increasing worker pressure. They might expand their dark store networks further to truly reduce delivery distances. Some platforms might hire full-time staff instead of relying only on gig workers.
For customers, the main takeaway is that convenience does not have to come at the cost of someone else’s safety. You can still get your essentials quickly. The service will remain extremely fast by traditional standards, just not at the expense of delivering workers’ health and lives.
For workers, this is a moment of hope. It shows that collective action through strikes and worker unity can actually force large companies and governments to listen. It demonstrates that worker safety is finally being taken seriously as a policy concern.
Balancing Speed, Safety, and Workers’ Rights
The end of 10-minute delivery promises represents a balance between three important things: customer convenience, worker safety, and sustainable business practices. India’s quick commerce industry grew so fast that it did not stop to ask if the speed was safe. Workers paid the price with their health, their injuries, and in some tragic cases, their lives.
This government intervention shows that there are limits to how far businesses can push workers in the name of consumer convenience. It acknowledges that real people are behind every delivery. These are people with families, dreams, and the right to come home safely after work.
For customers, this is a reminder that the services we enjoy depend on the people who provide them. Next time you receive your groceries quickly, it is worth remembering that the delivery rider made that happen, not just the app technology.
The quick commerce industry is not disappearing. Companies will continue to offer fast deliveries. But they will do so more responsibly. Workers will have more time, less pressure, and better safety measures. Customers will get their items quickly while knowing that the system is not built on the suffering of workers.
This is what real progress looks like. It is not always about being the fastest or the cheapest. Sometimes it is about doing things the right way.
Conclusion
The end of the 10-minute delivery promise marks a necessary shift in how India’s quick commerce industry measures success. Speed alone can no longer justify unsafe working conditions or constant pressure on delivery workers. What looked like convenience for customers often translated into risk, stress, and injury for riders navigating crowded streets against the clock.
This change does not mean the end of fast deliveries. It means the end of unrealistic guarantees that ignored human limits. Groceries will still arrive quickly, just without forcing workers to gamble with their safety. More importantly, it signals that worker welfare is finally part of the conversation, not an afterthought.
Government intervention, combined with worker protests, has shown that collective voices matter. As platforms adapt, the focus must move toward safer systems, fair pay, and long-term sustainability. True progress is not about shaving off minutes. It is about building a model where convenience, dignity, and safety can exist together.
Source: Quick commerce platforms to drop ‘10-minute delivery’ vow & No more 10-minute delivery: Centre steps in, asks Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy to drop time limit
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