The Indian government has forged a significant agreement with food delivery giant Zomato to establish approximately 2.5 lakh gig economy jobs each year through the National Career Service platform. This memorandum of understanding, signed on October 14, 2025, represents a major advancement in formalizing India’s rapidly growing platform-based workforce while providing crucial social security benefits to millions of workers in the gig economy sector.
Government Advances Platform Worker Integration
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, formalized the agreement in New Delhi with Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje and Labour Secretary Vandana Gurnani present. The partnership introduces a dedicated ‘Aggregator’ section within the National Career Service (NCS) portal, enabling Zomato to post flexible employment opportunities for delivery personnel and other gig economy workers.
During the ceremony, Mandaviya explained that this initiative will bring platform-based roles into the official employment framework, providing young people and women with access to respectable, technology-driven work opportunities. The NCS portal, which began operations in 2015, has successfully generated over 7.7 crore job openings and continues functioning as a crucial connection point between those seeking employment and potential employers.
Supporting National Development Goals Through 2047
This collaboration directly reinforces the government’s Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) and the ambitious Viksit Bharat 2047 initiative, designed to establish India as a developed country by the centenary of its independence. Karandlaje stressed that the agreement advances formalization and social protection for workers across both organized and unorganized sectors.
The announcement timing appears calculated for maximum impact, with Gurnani revealing that fresh career prospects will appear on the NCS portal around Diwali, offering timely opportunities for both job seekers and businesses. India’s social security reach has grown substantially from 19 percent in 2015 to an anticipated 64.3 percent by 2025, now covering 940 million people.
Expanding Employment Network Across Multiple Platforms
This Zomato partnership forms part of an extensive employment generation campaign by the Labour Ministry. Throughout the previous year, the ministry established agreements with 14 major companies including Amazon, Swiggy, Rapido, Zepto, Mentor Together, Apna.co, HireMee, FoundIT, and TeamLease, together producing more than five lakh job opportunities. With Zomato’s addition, the combined annual job creation capacity reaches approximately 7.5 lakh positions across all collaborative arrangements.
The National Career Service portal currently hosts over 48 lakh registered employers and has processed more than 6.43 crore job postings by mid-2025. The platform provides artificial intelligence-powered resume creation tools, multilingual assistance, and career guidance services through more than 1,182 registered counselors who have completed over 41 lakh consultation sessions with job seekers.
