Sustainable Gig Economy Finance Towards GDP Growth of India Through “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”

Introduction

Covid-19 disrupted employment for millions of people and forced them to go into the gig economy practically immediately. Despite the turmoil created by the government's suspension of operations, there is still a lack of knowledge about the extent of India's gig economy and how it impacts the labor market. Thus, largest online gig work aggregators and job-tech start-ups in India point to several interesting trends that could potentially shape the future on India’s employment landscape. During the pandemic, the maximum demand for gig workers was for jobs such as last mile delivery of essential goods, creation, moderation and cataloguing of digital content, telesales and operations management. In the past eight months since the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, 78 percent of micro-small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups in India have decreased staff. According to the results of a study conducted by Local Circles, just 22 percent of start-ups and micro-enterprises have an expanded staff or a match with pre-Covid levels. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the ensuing shutdown, India's start up and MSME environment has had a very difficult period, although India's outstanding performance in the worldwide fight against COVID-19 has been extensively acknowledged and praised. Most companies reduced expenses to weather the storm, leading to others to go out of business temporarily or permanently. CMIE estimates that 6 million white-collar jobs have been lost in India over the March-August timeframe. A study was performed on start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to identify any effect that Covid may have on their workers. The study got over 7,000 answers from start-ups, micro and small- and medium-sized enterprises, and entrepreneurs that are based in 104 different high-traffic commercial areas in the nation. Throughout the Covid-19 epidemic, start up and micro business firms were questioned about the changes to their personnel that had occurred during the pandemic. Of those surveyed, 15 percent said that they had a 50 percent or more staff reduction, while 25 percent stated that their company had shut down and all personnel had been let go. Additionally, about 19 of percent respondents said that their staff has been cut by as much as 25 percent to 50 percent. Further, around six percent claimed their staff has grown, while another sixteen percent indicated their employment is the same as prior to the period before to Covid-19. Moreover, 78 percent of the MSMEs and start-ups in India have decreased employment as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, whereas 22 percent of start-ups and MSMEs have an expanded headcount. The government launched a program to assist small companies, the Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme, but businesses' responses in July this year indicate that the benefits of the program have been modest. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a bill increasing the amount of paid maternity leave to six months in 2017, putting India at the third highest in the world. Kapoor, Mohit (2020)