India, Jan. 30 -- Tap an app, and a pack of batteries, a tub of ice cream, or a single bathroom towel appears at your door within ten minutes. Speed is the headline. If convenience is seduction, then Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy's Instamart and Zepto-peddlers of quick commerce-are the masters of that seduction.

But when the government stepped in earlier this month to protect gig workers-following a massive strike by riders-the spotlight shifted. Speed wasn't under scrutiny. It was the ugly economic bargain underpinning quick commerce. The industry's panic that followed was predictable. Because if delivery riders are paid fairly, insured properly and protected from the elements, the math stops working for the owners.

Except, here is the secr...