The ten-minute delivery model is enabled by the density of stores near your home and not how fast our partners deliver your orders, Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has said.
Addressing concerns around food delivery operations, Goyal responded to a range of questions on late penalties, insurance for gig workers, and partners breaking traffic rules.
On X, Goyal said all delivery partners were provided with medical and life insurance. Responding to a query on career progression, he noted that delivery work was not designed to be a long-term role.
"This is not a permanent job for anyone," he wrote, adding that most people take up gig work for a few months in a year and move on to more stable employment.
Explaining the hiring process, Goyal said anyone with a valid driving licence and a clear background check is eligible to work as a delivery partner. About penalties for late deliveries, he clarified that riders were not subjected to any such thing should they fail to deliver on time.
On attrition, Goyal revealed that the annual attrition rate among delivery partners stands at around 65 per cent in a year, adding, "This is truly 'gig' and not a permanent job for anyone.
Yes, everyone has medical and life insurance.
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 1, 2026
Career progression for an unskilled job? This is not a permanent job for anyone. Most people do this for a few months in a year and move on to something more permanent.
Anybody with a valid drivers license, and clear background check…
These clarifications came after gig workers' unions staged a strike on New Year's Eve.
He said that the company's quick delivery promise is driven by the large number of Blinkit stores located close to residential areas. "Our 10-minute delivery promise is enabled by the density of stores around your homes. It's not enabled by asking delivery partners to drive fast," he wrote.
Goyal clarified that delivery partners are not shown the promised delivery time on their apps and do not operate under countdown timers.
According to him, once an order is placed on Blinkit, it is picked and packed within about 2.5 minutes, after which the rider typically travels less than two kilometres in roughly eight minutes, an average speed of around 15 kmph.
"I understand why everybody thinks that 10 minutes must be risking lives, because it is indeed hard to imagine the sheer complexity of the system design which enables quick deliveries," he added.
Responding to questions on why deliveries still take up to 10 minutes despite stores being located within a 2-kilometre radius, Goyal said delivery partners prioritise safety over speed.
One more thing. Our 10 minute delivery promise is enabled by the density of stores around your homes. It's not enabled by asking delivery partners to drive fast. Delivery partners don't even have a timer on their app to indicate what was the original time promised to the…
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 1, 2026
Goyal also addressed broader concerns around gig work, saying many delivery partners choose platform work willingly and, in some cases, prefer it to traditional jobs and urged critics to speak directly to riders to understand their perspective. "You will be humbled by how rational and honest they will be with you," he wrote.
While admitting that no system is perfect, Goyal said that Zomato is open to making improvements. However, he rejected claims circulating on social media that gig workers are being exploited.
He also responded to a user who questioned why delivery partners are often seen rushing and violating traffic rules, and whether there are any indirect incentives that encourage such behaviour.
Goyal said, "If our delivery partners were the only ones breaking traffic rules, I would take the blame," adding that a large number of Indians are always in a rush and breaking traffic rules.
"What's their '10 minute' incentive to do that? Nothing. We are impatient on the road as a society," he wrote.
Goyal further said delivery partners tend to be noticed more because they wear company uniforms, which makes their actions more visible and easier to associate with a brand. "When someone without a uniform breaks traffic rules, you usually don't remember it later, because you don't have any brand/platform to attribute it to," he added.
One honest question, if you can answer it
— Ritu Joon (@ritujoon2j) January 1, 2026
Why are they always in a rush and breaking traffic rules? Is there some indirect incentive for that? This isn't just one or two people's observation, it's a very common one that they are always rushing.
Also, can you suggest some…
He also responded to a user who asked whether delivery partners are penalised if they are late by three to five minutes, clarifying that there are no penalties or charges for late deliveries.
No penalties for late deliveries.
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 1, 2026
Deepinder Goyal On Gig Workers' Strike
Goyal also claimed that most Zomato and Blinkit delivery partners were against the January 1 nationwide strike. He said that 0.1 per cent miscreants were illegally snatching parcels from those who wanted to work, beating them up, and threatening to damage their bikes.
"So who were these riders who were creating this trouble? Largely, the ones who were terminated by the system for repeated abuse and fraud on the platform. They impersonate, steal food, and also abscond with the cash they collect from the customers, amongst other things," he said.
"These individuals want to arm-twist us to let them back onto the platforms and exploit the system for their own sake," he said, adding that they were being "supported and instigated by politically motivated individuals who just want to stir up chaos for media mileage".
Most of our delivery partners did not want to go on a strike yesterday. The 0.1% miscreants I mentioned in the tweet below were illegally snatching parcels from those who wanted to work, beating them up, and threatening to damage their bikes. Which is why local law authorities… https://t.co/gAqbUlyOu5
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 1, 2026
In another post, he revealed that Zomato and Blinkit have achieved record delivery numbers on New Year's Eve, despite calls for strikes over the past few days.
"Over 4.5 lakh delivery partners across both platforms delivered more than 75 lakh orders (all-time high) to over 63 lakh customers during the day. This happened without any additional incentives for delivery partners," he wrote.
This sparked a reaction from comedian and social media commentator Kunal Kamra, who questioned the hourly earnings of delivery partners over the past year.
"It's just another number you have, you give it and end the debate... If you tell me they were at least paid Rs 50 every hour they were on the app, I'll never tweet about gig workers again," Kamra wrote on X.
Earlier this week, the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union had announced a nationwide strike on December 31 to push their demands on the rights, welfare and dignity of gig and platform workers across India.
Also Read: Gig Workers' Strike Call Fails To Chill New Year's Eve Delivery Rush
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