This silent workforce is draining $15 billion a year. India’s biggest crisis hides in plain sight

Each year, 10 million workers leave their homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, heading to industrial hubs in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in search of work. Yet 60% of them land in underemployment or get trapped in exploitative informal networks. 

“This isn’t just a labour crisis,” writes Shalin Maheshwari, Chairman and Co-founder at MERAQUI Group, “it’s a systemic failure costing India $15 billion annually in lost productivity.”

Maheshwari, in a LinkedIn post,  warns that India’s gig economy isn’t about ride-hailing or food delivery apps—it’s a quiet revolution in the making. Bain’s 2025 report supports this shift, estimating that gig work could power 1.25% of India’s GDP by 2030 through efficiency gains across construction (23 million jobs), manufacturing (19 million), and transportation (18 million). Urban households already create demand for 50 million domestic gig roles, but the deeper change lies in formalizing India’s massive informal workforce.

Gig workers fall into eight distinct segments—from 35% who are Financially Strapped Solo Earners, such as daily-wage construction laborers, to 12% who are Aspiring Entrepreneurs using platforms to build their businesses. But the concerns remain constant: “I earn ₹25k/month now, but during lockdown, I survived on loans,” Maheshwari quotes a 24-year-old Mumbai delivery worker. 

“Platforms promise flexibility, but stability? That’s a myth.”

MSMEs aren’t fully convinced either. “I can’t risk hiring untrained gig workers for machines costing crores,” a Coimbatore textile factory owner says. For 70% of manufacturing employers, verified credentials are non-negotiable. Even households hesitate—only 15% hire gig maids or cooks regularly, citing safety concerns. For sporadic jobs like plumbing, 65% rely on platforms purely for background checks and transparent pricing.

Though gig work bounced back post-pandemic—with 80% of workers regaining pre-COVID earnings by 2023—volatility and social stigma persist. A majority of unskilled workers reject gig work outright; many graduates won’t touch it due to “low prestige.”

As Maheshwari notes, “Gig work’s success hinges on making 41-year-old Jaipur security guards as investable as Silicon Valley coders.” For India, the gig economy is not a trend—it’s a rewriting of the social contract for 500 million informal workers.