Food delivery aggregators Swiggy, Zomato and magicpin reported a massive surge in orders on New Year’s Eve, saying a strike called by a section of gig workers had little to no impact on their operations during one of the busiest nights of the year.

The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claimed that more than one lakh workers across 22 cities took part in the strike, including around 14,000 members from major urban centres such as Delhi and Mumbai. The protest was aimed at demanding better pay-outs and improved working conditions.

However, companies said delivery operations continued largely uninterrupted. India’s third-largest food delivery platform, magicpin, said lakhs of orders were placed every hour across metro cities on New Year’s Eve.

In a post on X, Eternal founder and Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said both Zomato and Blinkit delivered at a record pace, despite calls for strikes in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve.

“Zomato and Blinkit delivered at a record pace yesterday, unaffected by calls for strikes that many of us heard over the past few days,” Goyal said, adding that support from local law enforcement helped ensure smooth operations.

According to Goyal, more than 4.5 lakh delivery partners across Zomato and Blinkit delivered over 75 lakh orders — an all-time high — to more than 63 lakh customers in a single day. He thanked local authorities, on-ground teams and delivery partners “who showed up despite intimidation”.

Goyal also cautioned against what he described as “narratives pushed by vested interests”, arguing that the gig economy continues to attract workers at scale.

“The gig economy is one of India’s largest organised job creation engines,” he said, adding that its long-term impact would grow as workers’ families benefit from stable incomes and education.

magicpin founder and chief executive Anshoo Sharma said the platform saw “no impact” from the strike, noting that New Year’s Eve once again highlighted how central food delivery has become to celebrations in India.

Data shared by Swiggy and magicpin showed that Indians largely stuck to favourites such as biryani, pizzas and butter chicken, alongside traditional desserts like gajar ka halwa. On magicpin, pizza emerged as the early favourite, while orders for desserts such as gajar ka halwa and ice cream tripled compared to last year. Dinner orders peaked around 9.30 pm, with butter chicken topping the charts in the Delhi-NCR region, followed by biryani and dal makhni.

Swiggy reported that biryani alone clocked 2.19 lakh orders before 7.30 pm on New Year’s Eve. By 8.30 pm, over 2.18 lakh pizzas had been delivered, narrowly edging out burgers, which saw more than 2.16 lakh orders. The company said the numbers reflected the diversity of Indian food preferences during festive celebrations.

Swiggy also noted strong demand for dining out, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad leading restaurant bookings on its Dineout platform. Ahmedabad recorded the highest growth, with bookings rising 1.6 times compared to last year, followed by Lucknow and Jaipur.

According to government estimates, India has more than 12.7 million gig workers, a figure projected by NITI Aayog to rise to 23.5 million by 2029–30, underscoring the growing scale and significance of the sector even amid ongoing debates over worker welfare.

(PTI)