New Delhi, Dec. 19 -- India's food delivery sector directly employed 1.37 million workers in 2023-24, up from 1.08 million in 2021-22, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3%, according to a recent study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and investment group Prosus. It thus comfortably outpaced India's overall employment growth rate of 7.9% over the same period. However, gig workers' representatives said these numbers hide job distress in the gig economy, where food delivery workers work for up to 12-14 hours a day for low incomes. They said the fact the more people were engaging was in fact a consequence of rising unemployment. Despite accounting for just 0.2% of the total workforce, food delivery has become one of the fastest-growing sources of gig work in the services economy. The sector is dominated by Swiggy and Zomato. These food delivery platforms have become an important source of income for gig workers, particularly urban and semi-urban ones seeking flexible employment, said the report, which studied the impact of the food delivery sector on gig workers and hotels. The study estimated the gross value of output (GVO) of the food delivery sector at Rs.1.2 trillion in 2023-24, more than doubling from Rs.613 billion in 2021-22. Gross value added (GVA) was estimated at Rs.476 billion, equivalent to 0.2% of national GVA. NCAER used data from July 2023 to June 2024. GVO is the total turnover of the food delivery sector, while GVA is GVO minus input cost....