Beyond The Binary: Legal Classification of Gig Workers in India's Evolving Labour Law Architecture

Abstract

Since 2023, the nature of gig and platform workers – whether they are “employee” or “independent contractor” has become a multi-level regulatory battle in India. In India, the amount of legal activity has never been greater, from the Welfare Fund statute passed in the State of Rajasthan in 2023, various State laws and draft bills in Karnataka, Telangana, Jharkhand and Bihar, the delay in the implementation of the Code on Social Security (2020), all four central Labour Codes (21 November 2025) to the Supreme Court challenge of Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) against the Union of India. As of now, the registration of workers, including the number of gig/workers and platform workers, is also not centralized as only 3.37 lakh of the total 30.98 lakh workers registered on e-Shram portal are categorized as gig/platform workers, while NITI Aayog estimates it at 23.5 million by 2029-30. This paper aims at doctrinal, comparative and policy analysis of this situation which is swiftly changing. It draws parallels with more elaborate Karnataka act and further with more detailed Code of Central Government and recent judicial decisions made in India and overseas and introduces a multi factorial classification system which could have been integrated into the existing Welfare Board system in Rajasthan. It is based on solid government, legislative and journalistic sources in the analysis period (2023-2026). The figures and tables depict the following: Growth in workforce, sectoral structure and skill type, e-Sharam registration deficit, classification time line and comparative international classification tests and proposed classification route.