Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, said 31 lakh Indians chose to earn through its delivery platforms during the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), marking a 57% increase from the previous year. Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal shared the figure on October 9, highlighting the people behind India’s expanding food-delivery and quick-commerce industries.
The announcement offers a glimpse into the scale of the gig workforce supporting online food orders, grocery deliveries and other purchases. However, the figure requires an important distinction: it represents people who chose to earn through the platforms during the financial year, not necessarily 31 lakh new workers recruited in FY26. Eternal’s annual report separately describes income opportunities generated for more than 30 lakh gig workers through its delivery businesses.
Key takeaways
- 31 lakh delivery partners: Deepinder Goyal said this many Indians earned through Zomato and Blinkit in FY26.
- 57% annual growth: The figure increased compared with FY25, according to Goyal.
- Not 3.1 lakh new hires: The announcement does not establish that 310,000 new workers were recruited during the year.
- Two different business models: Zomato focuses on restaurant food delivery, while Blinkit operates in quick commerce.
- Worker welfare initiatives: Eternal reported unlocking around ₹200 crore in government scheme benefits for delivery partners.
- Employment quality remains important: The total participation figure does not reveal average earnings, hours worked or the number of active workers at any given time.
Deepinder Goyal highlights delivery workforce growth
Goyal shared the FY26 figure in a social media post celebrating the people who deliver orders through Zomato and Blinkit.
He highlighted how delivery partners balance platform work with other ambitions and responsibilities. His examples included students managing their education, entrepreneurs developing their businesses, dancers pursuing their interests and parents balancing work with family life.
The announcement was accompanied by a campaign co-created with musician Amit Trivedi to celebrate delivery partners and their lives beyond their work.
The message comes as India’s digital consumption market expands beyond restaurant meals into groceries, household essentials, personal-care products and other everyday purchases. As these services grow, delivery partners remain a critical link between digital platforms, businesses and customers.
For Eternal, the workforce supports two businesses with different operating requirements. Zomato connects customers with restaurants and coordinates meal deliveries, while Blinkit depends on a network of fulfilment locations and delivery partners to bring products to customers quickly.
The 31-lakh figure illustrates the scale of participation in this ecosystem, although it should not be treated as a direct measure of full-time employment or net job creation.
Why the distinction between 31 lakh and 3.1 lakh matters
The difference between the two figures is substantial.
| Figure | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 3.1 lakh | 310,000 |
| 31 lakh | 3,100,000 |
| Reported year-on-year increase | 57% |
Goyal’s statement refers to 31 lakh Indians who chose to earn through Zomato and Blinkit during FY26. Some headlines have described the figure as 3.1 lakh onboarded delivery partners, but that wording changes both the scale and the meaning of the announcement.
There are two separate issues.
First, 31 lakh is ten times larger than 3.1 lakh. Second, saying people earned through a platform during a financial year is different from saying they were newly recruited during that period.
A person might join a platform, work for several weeks, stop accepting orders and later return. Another might deliver only occasionally alongside studies or another job. Some workers may also use more than one delivery platform.
Consequently, the annual participation figure does not establish how many people joined for the first time, how many remained active throughout the year or how many worked simultaneously.
For employment analysis, these distinctions are essential. A large annual participation figure can demonstrate the reach of a platform without revealing the number of stable, full-time jobs it supports.
Zomato and Blinkit depend on different delivery networks
Eternal’s two consumer-facing businesses share a dependence on last-mile logistics, but their delivery requirements differ.
Zomato’s food-delivery business connects customers with restaurants. Demand can vary around lunch and dinner, weekends, festivals and major sporting events. Delivery partners must collect prepared orders and transport them to customers, often within relatively short delivery windows.
Blinkit operates in the quick-commerce segment, where customers order groceries, household supplies and other products through an app. Orders are generally fulfilled through a network of stores or fulfilment locations positioned close to customers.
This model requires coordination among inventory, store operations, order processing and delivery capacity. A larger network of delivery partners can help a platform manage peak demand and expand service availability, but it also needs sufficient order volumes to operate efficiently.
The growth of quick commerce has made delivery capacity an important competitive factor. Customers increasingly expect rapid delivery, while platforms must balance speed with the costs of maintaining stores, managing inventory and fulfilling orders.
For Eternal, workforce availability is therefore both an operational requirement and part of the economics of its businesses.
Eternal’s annual report provides additional context
The company’s FY26 annual report gives a broader view of its employment ecosystem.
Eternal reported that Zomato and Blinkit generated income opportunities through delivery for more than 30 lakh gig workers. It also reported more than one lakh workers engaged in stores, warehouses and other facilities across its four key businesses as of March 2026.
These figures cover different parts of the operating model. Delivery partners carry orders to customers, while store and warehouse workers support fulfilment, inventory handling and related operations.
The distinction matters because the company’s workforce extends beyond people who deliver orders. Quick-commerce expansion also requires physical infrastructure, technology, procurement, logistics and operational support.
The annual report additionally disclosed more than 16,800 active women workers across warehouses, stores and last-mile delivery as of March 2026, along with more than 3,700 people with disabilities working in last-mile delivery.
These disclosures offer a broader view of participation in Eternal’s ecosystem. However, workforce size and diversity figures do not, by themselves, establish the quality of employment or the financial outcomes experienced by individual workers.
Worker welfare and government benefits
Alongside workforce expansion, Eternal has highlighted initiatives intended to help delivery partners access financial and social-security programs.
According to the company’s FY26 annual report, it unlocked approximately ₹200 crore in government scheme benefits for delivery partners through enrollment initiatives across India.
The company also reported that more than one lakh delivery partners had opened retirement accounts under the National Pension Scheme’s gig-worker variant through the Zomato app.
In addition, 1.2 lakh delivery partners filed income-tax returns through the app, with 70% described as first-time filers. Eternal said those filers received more than ₹18 crore in refunds.
These initiatives show how digital platforms can act as a channel for connecting workers with government schemes and financial services.
However, enrolling in a program or unlocking a benefit is not the same as guaranteeing comprehensive social protection. The long-term value depends on eligibility, continued participation, contribution levels and workers’ ability to access the benefits when required.
As gig work becomes more widespread, social security, retirement savings, accident protection and income predictability are likely to remain important policy questions.
Gig work offers flexibility, but income varies
Delivery platforms often attract people who want to earn alongside education, family responsibilities or other work. Goyal’s examples highlight these different motivations.
But the number of people participating in a delivery network does not reveal how much the average worker earns.
Income can depend on the number of orders completed, hours worked, distance travelled, incentives, local demand and expenses. Workers using two-wheelers may also need to account for fuel, maintenance, insurance and mobile data.
These costs can materially affect the amount left after expenses. Earnings may also fluctuate when order volumes change or incentive structures are revised.
A more complete assessment of gig employment would examine net earnings, working hours, accident rates, worker retention, benefit coverage and the share of participants who rely on delivery work as their main source of income.
Eternal’s announcement provides a measure of participation across the financial year. It does not answer all these questions, and the distinction is important when interpreting the company’s contribution to employment.
Electric vehicles could reshape delivery economics
Eternal’s FY26 disclosures also highlighted an increase in delivery partners using electric vehicles.
The company reported that the number of delivery partners using electric vehicles rose from approximately 52,000 in March 2025 to more than 100,000 in March 2026.
Electric two-wheelers could help reduce fuel expenses and tailpipe emissions, particularly for workers who travel long distances or complete many deliveries each day.
The financial benefits, however, depend on several factors, including vehicle purchase or rental costs, battery life, charging access, maintenance and daily usage. Workers may need affordable financing and reliable charging infrastructure to make the transition practical.
For platforms, greater electric-vehicle adoption could support emissions-reduction goals and potentially improve delivery economics over time. It also creates opportunities for vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, charging providers and financial-service companies.
The expansion of delivery networks is therefore connected to developments across India’s electric-mobility and logistics industries.
What the workforce figure means for Eternal
A large delivery network can help Eternal support more orders, expand into new locations and respond to demand during peak periods. It is particularly relevant to quick commerce, where delivery speed and local fulfilment capacity are central to the customer proposition.
However, workforce growth does not automatically translate into higher profitability.
The economics depend on order density, average delivery distance, incentives, customer demand and the cost of fulfilling each order. If a platform adds delivery capacity without a corresponding increase in orders, its operating efficiency may not improve.
Eternal must also balance customer expectations with delivery costs and worker welfare. Faster service can strengthen customer satisfaction, but maintaining a dependable network requires an appropriate balance between incentives, logistics infrastructure and sustainable operating costs.
The 31-lakh participation figure is therefore an indicator of the scale of the delivery ecosystem, rather than a direct measure of revenue growth, productivity or profit.
The Bigger Picture
Eternal’s announcement highlights the growing relationship between India’s digital consumption economy and flexible work. Food delivery and quick commerce rely on large networks of people to fulfil orders, while technology platforms connect workers with customers and businesses. The reported participation of 31 lakh Indians demonstrates the scale of this relationship, but it should not be confused with the number of new hires or stable jobs created during FY26.
The next stage of the gig-economy debate will focus on employment quality as well as scale. Earnings after expenses, working hours, access to social-security benefits, retirement savings and road safety will be important measures of how these opportunities affect livelihoods. For platforms, maintaining a dependable delivery network will require balancing expansion with worker welfare and efficient operations.
Looking Ahead
Eternal’s delivery network will remain important as Zomato and Blinkit expand their services. Investors and industry observers should watch future disclosures on order volumes, delivery costs, workforce participation, electric-vehicle adoption and welfare initiatives to understand whether the expanding ecosystem is becoming more efficient and sustainable.
For policymakers, the announcement reinforces the need to measure gig employment beyond the number of people who participate during a financial year. Better information on earnings, working hours, retention and benefit coverage would provide a clearer picture of how app-based delivery work supports livelihoods. The distinction between annual participation, new onboarding and sustained employment will remain essential as India’s platform economy grows.
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