India, Oct. 8 -- For a delivery partner or driver, income is not determined only by the payout on an app. It depends on access to a reliable vehicle, operating costs, financing, maintenance, insurance and how much productive time the worker can actually spend on the road.

In many ways, the vehicle is the workplace. The future of gig work will therefore depend not just on platforms creating more orders, but on an ecosystem that makes every working hour more productive, predictable and secure.

India has already taken an important step by formally recognising gig and platform workers within its social-security framework. The Code on Social Security provides for schemes covering areas such as life and disability, accident insurance, health ...