Gig economy in India

What is GIG Economy?:
People started working from home remotely in the digital world. This trend increased in 2020 during covid economic crisis. The gig economy is nothing but temporary, flexible jobs. Companies hired contractors and freelancers to complete their work or project instead of giving full-time employment. It provides more adaptability for workers. Many companies felt these model will give more benefits and flexible. At the same gig economy have negative, that it can't be like the traditional economy. The relationship between workers and clients eroded. The gig is not a new concept in India, already temporary farmworkers and daily wage construction workers are in urban and rural areas.
Understanding Gig Economy:
Most of the people working part-time, or Temporarily or freelancers in Gig economy, so you can get cheaper and more efficient services. For example, colleges and universities can cut their cost by hiring part-time professors with the same academic qualification as full-time professors. In Earlier days there were daily earners and after time passed and it becomes a 9 to 6 job. But now 64% of workers are motivated to work what they want. Companies also showing interest in hiring Gig workers. In the U.S, Every third population is a Gig worker and it will increase in the future. Computers are a main part of the economy as they provide the opportunity of working from home or in person. With the help of technology platforms like Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Dunzo, Urban Company among others, Gig economy has grown big already.

Work Approach:
In the private sector, lifestyles become very hectic, and work-life balance is not going well. This gave a negative perception on full-time employment. In private companies employees doing the same work daily and they will get bored. Gig workers choose their profession in which they got interested and do what they want and it provides well work-life balance and work satisfaction.

Startup Culture:
In India, startup culture is developing rapidly. Start-up companies hiring freelancers and contract employees. They hire skilled technology freelancers on a project basis in engineering, information technology, data science, etc. Even in food delivery companies like Zomato, many Gig workers are working part-time.

Multi-National Companies (MNCs):
Even MNCs are adopting Gig workers to reduce operational costs. Because after pandemic companies are trying to reduce cost in all aspects. As of now, 75% of companies have less than 10 % of gig employees but it will increase to 65% in the future. ASSOCHAM report shows India’s gig sector is expected to increase to US$455 billion at a CAGR of 17% by 2024. India is likely to have 350 million gig jobs by 2025, presenting a huge opportunity for job seekers to capitalize and adapt to the changing work dynamics.

Business Model:
Gig Economy workers broke down into three categories

1. Full time independent: Any worker working more than 15 hours and getting paid and it is known as a full time independent

2. Part time-independent: These people are like contractors who work few hours a week regularly. They treat this as extra income.

3. Occasional independent: These people works, on-demand in the market. They don't work regularly but at least once or twice a month. 

Gig workers works on various compensation models like a contract, hourly charges, based on the quality outcome, etc.

Conclusion:
In the last few years, the Gig economy has seen a big growth in India. As already told Gig economy is not new in India as daily earners and temporary farm employees are working in Gig model for many years. In digital world, it comes into limelight because of many online platforms providing support for Gig Workers and Employers. The gig economy contributes an incremental 1.25 percent to India's GDP over the long term. Also, the Gig model provides an exciting work culture and improves livelihood opportunities mainly for low-income workers in Indian economy.