Indian cities are experiencing not only escalating temperature, but also a growing demand for quick commerce as summer peaks. Consumers are demanding delivery of groceries, medicine and other day-to-day needs within minutes. The promise of instant fulfillment at a touch of the button has changed the habits of the consumers, simmering heat making going out a burden. This increased dependence on convenience, fuelled by speed, raises concerns, particularly regarding delivery riders.
This summer is a daily test of endurance for delivery riders since temperatures are soaring to over 40°C in most regions of India. Delivery riders navigate around in the scorching heat, racing against time. They are constantly subjected to direct sun, hot winds and traffic pollution. Majority of them handle multiple deliveries in an hour that may lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion, fatigue, and even heatstroke in severe situations. Protective gear, such as helmets and uniforms, adds to the discomfort in this hot weather.
Meanwhile, in some of the dark stores and warehouses, access to basic amenities, such as shaded rest areas, drinking water and medical support, is also inconsistent. This necessitates a paradigm shift for the quick commerce industry from a fast to a fair mode. They can redesign their systems focusing on the riders’ health and safety, especially in summers. This may involve the supply of cooling gear, hydration kits, minimum rest periods and a fair compensation. They can also provide heat-sensitive routing in their delivery apps, which automatically reroutes orders when the temperatures exceed safe thresholds. These actions could ensure that the delivery riders are recognised with dignity and care, rather than a logistics unit.
On the other hand, consumers can also responsibly contribute in this scenario through a slight shift in their expectations. They can make a difference by understanding delayed delivery during the extreme weather conditions. There is no need to skip convenience, instead they can temper their expectations.
Although urban economy is incomplete without gig workers, there lies a gap between their economic importance and their exclusion from safety and welfare provisions. This gap needs to be bridged by revising the labor policy to categorically include them.
At a policy level, this breakthrough necessitates the establishment of an explicit policy to implement heat action plans for gig workers. India has already taken an important step through the Code on Social Security, 2020, which formally recognises delivery riders as gig and platform workers and envisages access to social security benefits.
Yet, they are not granted employee status. State-level efforts—the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023, pioneered a structured approach for regulating the engagement of gig workers by establishing welfare boards to support gig worker. Following Rajasthan, few other Indian states—Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Bihar—have also moved towards enacting similar laws focused on registration, social security, and welfare boards for platform based workers.
Karnataka introduced Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill during 2024-2025. Telangana has also drafted the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Bill (2025) and is set to join the list of states with legislation to regulate working conditions for gig workers.
The policy space is unevenly implemented across India. Building on such models, other Indian states could also incorporate heat-index based advisories to protect gig worker health. Through this, India can move closer to a system where the speed of service does not outpace the safety and health.
The future of quick commerce will be defined by its ability to strike a balance between efficiency and responsibility. Summer are a grim reminder that the ability to become technologically competent is impossible without human resilience. Thus, in the face of rising demand, the path forward is not faster, but fairer.
(A P SriVidhya is a research scholar of Agribusiness Management at VIT University, Vellore. Dr. J Paul Mansingh is Professor at VIT University, Vellore)