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The life of gig workers in the platform economy – in conversation with Vandana Vasudevan, author, ‘OTP Please!’ >
by Madanmohan Rao [September 16, 2025]
This Saturday, on September 20, the 11th edition of the BizLitFest Bangalore is kicking off at WeWork Galaxy. Benedict Paramanand, co-founder of this business literature festival series, also launched the inaugural Hyderabad edition on August 2.
In our first preview article on BLFB 2025, we featured an exclusive interview with Ganesh Krishnan, author of Mastering Disruption: A Practical Guide to Understanding New-Age Business Models.
In our second preview article, we featured an interview with Nitin Seth, author of Human Edge in the AI Age: Eight Timeless Mantras for Success.
In our third preview article, we interviewed Arun Maira, author, Reimagining India's Economy: The Road to a More Equitable Society.
In this preview article, we interview development sector professional Vandana Vasudevan, author of OTP Please! Online Buyers, Sellers and Gig Workers in South Asia. She studied at IIM Ahmedabad and University of Grenoble, France. Her other books are Urban Villager: Life in an Indian Satellite Town and Tough Customer.
The 325-page book is very well structured, and covers five sectors: online retail, food delivery, quick commerce, ride-hailing, and home services. Four categories of stakeholders are described across these sectors: customers, sellers, workers, and platforms.
Chapters are devoted to each of nine emotions that are common to all these sectors: pleasure, guilt, gratitude, anger, freedom, oppression, anxiety, facilitation, isolation, and courage. Case studies are drawn from apps not just in India but in neighbouring Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan as well.
“After a year-long investigation and hearing hundreds of voices across the region, it is apparent that a socio-economic shift is underway in how we buy, eat, move, work and sell owing to technological advancements,” Vandana writes in the preface.
The 30-page concluding chapter about this watershed moment in modern human history ties together key considerations of platform regulation, such as worker protection, sustainability, gender gaps. The book is thoroughly referenced, with 20 pages of citations and sources.
The book is an absorbing blend of storytelling, business history, and provocative ideas about opportunity, roles and responsibilities. From Swiggy, Amazon and Uber in India, Foodpanda in Pakistan, and Pathao in Bangladesh and Nepal, Vandana digs beneath the pleasures and pains of the platform economy.
In this wide-ranging interview, Vandana delves deeper into myths and misconceptions about the gig economy, career options, women’s participation, regulations, and ethical consumption. Sign up here to register for BLFB 2025 and listen to more insights from this research scholar!
Madan: What were some of the pleasures of writing this book – and the challenges?
Vandana: The pleasures were discovering how the digital economy in neighbouring countries works and what the stakeholders – buyers, sellers, workers – feel about them and to discover the similarities and differences in their outlook, compared to India.
For instance, urban young people in all countries are high users of food delivery apps for similar reasons – they want a change from the routine, new varieties that can be obtained at the tap of a button, staying away from family and not wanting to cook after long work hours.
But in other aspects there are differences owing to social and cultural attitudes. For example, in Nepal young girls happily use the motorbike taxi whereas in Pakistan and Bangladesh this is not common. Even in India girls hesitate to take a motorbike taxi.
These differences were interesting to observe and the process of getting all this information from far corners through a network of young people was a wonderful experience.
The challenge was that this is a dynamic sector that is changing every week, so I found myself running to keep pace and even till the last minute – frustrating my editors by going on making some changes based on a fresh news report about gig workers welfare schemes or something a minister has said about e-commerce.
Madan: Your book is structured around nine emotions – were there other emotions that did not make it to the list?
Vandana: Maybe if I had interviewed the founders of these tech apps, which I did not because I thought their voices are already amplified in the media, I would have had a separate chapter called "Greed".
Madan: What are some common myths and misconceptions about the gig economy that you still come across? How can they be tackled?
Vandana: That it is an easy flexible job that people do on the side apart from their main job. It is not. That is how it started in the West when Uber introduced part time driving as an option for professionals.
But in this region, gig workers are the main bread earners of the family. They have car loans to pay off if they are cab drivers, they are not compensated for rising petrol prices, and hence they have to work for 12-14 hours to earn the money they need to run their homes.
Another myth is that they do not have a boss so there is no one controlling them. This is incorrect as there is an algorithm which I have called an 'antaryami' – one who knows everything and sees everything. This algorithm dictates every move of the gig worker – whom he has to see next, for how much he has to sell his service, and so on. Sometimes it can be more stifling than a real human boss.
How they can be tackled is by fixing minimum wages commensurate with the number of hours worked and ensuring there is a human interface for grievance resolution.
Madan: How have you seen the rise of GenAI impacting the gig economy? eg. chatbots replacing more staff at platform companies.
Vandana: Yes, workers often complain that there is no one to listen to their grievances. Whatever they have to say, they have to fill it in their app. At the most they have a call centre, but mostly the recruitment, training and even quitting is all on the app.
It is a disturbing trend because as it is workers are driving alone all day, and even when they need support, there is no human to speak to. There are some centres – like Swiggy has in some towns – but that is for new recruits to come take their kit, that's about it.
Madan: What kinds of career paths are opening up for gig workers? Is it a dead end for many, or are there better openings emerging?
Vandana: There are no career paths within the system. I have met middle-aged men who have been doing food delivery for five years – only to realise that this is it. The company doesn't owe them anything because they are not employees, so there is no investment in their training or career.
Only in skilled gig work like in Urban Company where people are beauticians or plumbers or carpenters, I understand there is some training given, which I suppose can be useful if they quit this line of work and decide to work offline somewhere.
Madan: What are some ways of improving women’s participation in the gig economy, in addition to quotas and financial support?
Vandana: I think ride hailing companies like Uber, Ola and Rapido can partner with NGOs and teach lower income women how to drive a cab or motorcycle. It can be a useful life skill and will improve the participation of women in the transport sector.
Currently only 2-3% of Uber/Ola drivers are women, which is dismal and can be improved making professional driving a career option for girls and women. Of course, safety aspects should be taken care of such as emergency buttons, self defense training, and the like. There is some work involved but if tech platforms can put their minds to it, there can be a huge change.
Madan: What are some ways for people to become better and more ethical consumers of the gig economy, eg. giving tips to delivery staff?
Vandana: Giving tips is a momentary thing but there are other things which require middle class India to be more big-minded and large-hearted – like not to order food in the afternoon of a blazing hot day if you can help it, or in the middle of pouring rain. Some platforms give gig workers extra money for extreme weather conditions but it is variable.
Also, people forget they have ordered something, and are not available to give approval which is needed in gated societies for the person to enter. Sometimes workers complain that customers who chose cash on delivery option are not even there at home after the packet has arrived. Customers do not stand where they say they will and the cabbie keeps circling.
People can be more aware of the constraints of the gig worker's job and act accordingly.
Madan: What are some of the best regulations you have come across that benefit gig workers?
Vandana: The Karnataka Platform based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on August 12, 2025. It has many useful clauses – for example, it requires that all contracts should be transparent and include fair terms of payments, deductions, incentives, and calculations of work done.
Contracts should explicitly contain the worker’s right to refuse tasks offered. It provides for a grievance redressal mechanism and stipulates that a gig worker welfare fee will be collected from the aggregators.
The government in Spain had passed a law for platform workers which requires complete transparency of how the algorithm works, and also laid down that there must be a human interface for workers.
Madan: Overall, are you optimistic about the prospects of the gig economy?
Vandana: Yes, am optimistic because it is here to stay. The are many benefits it offers as outlined in my book and now it is up to the government, business and us as society to make it fair and profitable for all stakeholders.
Madan: How has your book been received so far? What is your next book about?
Vandana: Fortunately, very well. All the reviews in the press have been very flattering. Also, the reviews on Amazon and LinkedIn and what people have told me personally from India of course, but also in other countries.
It is heartening that literally everyone who read the book has loved it. People have loved the fact that it is balanced and portrays the good and the bad of the digital economy equally. Also, that all countries have been well represented. And lastly, the idea of viewing tech businesses through the lens of emotions has been appreciated as being a novel approach.
Madan: What are your parting words of advice or messages to the audience?
Vandana: That technology is a tool to make your life convenient, not your life itself.
Madan: Any other comments or remarks you would like to make?
Vandana: I like the diversity of books even under the broad 'Business' umbrella that BizLitFest Bangalore is able to showcase!
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