Policy · Commerce & Consumer Brands

Zepto drops 10-minute delivery after minister's suggestion

By Startup Enthusiast · 14 January 2026

What they do

Zepto delivers groceries and essentials within minutes in Indian cities

CEO Aadit Palicha met Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who suggested removing '10 minutes' from branding; Zepto complied

Zepto employs over 180,000 delivery partners and over 40,000 store employees, truck drivers, and warehouse operators, and the company emphasizes its…

Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha met Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to discuss gig economy and hyperlocal commerce employment.
Mandaviya suggested removing '10 minutes' from Zepto's branding, and Zepto complied.
Other quick-commerce platforms Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, and Blinkit also dropped the 10-minute delivery guarantee from their branding.
Blinkit revised its tagline from '10,000+ products delivered in 10 minutes' to '30,000+ products delivered at your doorstep'.
The government intervention followed nationwide strikes by gig worker unions on December 25 and 31 demanding scrapping of 10-minute options.
The Labour Ministry instructed quick-commerce majors to consider delivery worker well-being; Mandaviya said the 10-minute promise pressures workers and compromises safety.
Gig Workers Association welcomed the rollback and sought a permanent institutional mechanism for dialogue.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal defended the gig work model, citing average delivery partner earnings of INR 102/hour in 2025, up 10.9% from INR 92 in 2024.
Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Association disputed Zomato's claims, stating net earnings are about INR 81/hour after fuel and maintenance.
AAP MP Raghav Chadha thanked the government, saying the 10-minute branding created real pressure on riders leading to stress and risky driving.
Gig Workers Association said the 10-minute model forces workers to rush and take risks, with pay often the same for multi-order deliveries as single orders.

Zepto is a quick-commerce platform that delivers groceries and essentials within minutes.
The company employs over 180,000 delivery partners and over 40,000 store employees, truck drivers, and warehouse operators.
Zepto disburses payouts worth thousands of crores of rupees annually to its workforce.
It works with farmers through its fruits and vegetables supply chain.
The platform supports thousands of Indian brands on its platform.

Product: A rapid-delivery app for groceries and everyday essentials.
Customers: Consumers ordering groceries and essentials online.
How it makes money: It earns from product margins, delivery fees, and order-value thresholds across its quick-commerce network.
What sets it apart: It was built as a quick-commerce native company from day one.
Operations: Operates dark-store based 10-minute delivery across multiple Indian cities.