Palicha calls the labour ministry’s advice fair as quick commerce firms recalibrate speed-focused messaging.
Zepto Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha on Wednesday described the Labour Ministry’s recommendation to remove the “10-minute” delivery promise from quick commerce platforms as fair and said the company remains open to further suggestions from the government to improve operations.
In a LinkedIn post, Palicha recounted a “wonderful meeting” with Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, praising the ministry’s support for the gig economy and hyperlocal commerce. “Our hope is to partner with the government and serve its initiatives in taking our country forward. Of course, we are not perfect, and we are always open to input from the government on how we can improve. This is what we did recently when Mansukh ji gave us a good-faith suggestion to remove ‘10 minutes’ from our branding,” Palicha wrote.
He added that delivery partners are “the soul of Zepto,” noting that the company has created over 180,000 jobs for delivery partners and more than 40,000 roles for store personnel, truck drivers, and warehouse operators. Zepto disburses “thousands of crores” in payouts annually while providing “world-class service” to consumers and supporting farmers and emerging Indian brands through its platform.
The decision follows other major quick commerce firms, including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, and Flipkart Minutes, dropping the 10-minute delivery claim last week amid pressure from labour rights groups and the ministry’s directive.
On gig worker welfare, Eternal, the parent company of Blinkit, reported in its Q3 FY26 results that Zomato and Blinkit together spent over Rs 100 crore in 2025 on insurance coverage for delivery partners. “At our end, the well-being of gig workers has always been a key priority, and we have proactively put in place welfare programmes for our delivery partners such as offering free-of-cost insurance, medical, accident, loss of pay and maternity cover — among multiple other benefits,” the company said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Zepto has filed preliminary papers with the markets regulator SEBI to raise Rs 11,000 crore through its initial public offering (IPO) via a confidential route, according to sources familiar with the matter.
