Welfare Fees, Welfare Boards and Platform Capture in India’s Gig Economy

The Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and WelfaThe Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025 is the first state-level social security law specifically for app-based gig workers in India (Bansal 2025). It mandates a differential “welfare levy” of 1%–5% on platform commissions with exact rates set by the government to fund a new Gig Workers’ Welfare Board and social security fund (Balasubramanyam 2025; Das 2025). The law obliges platforms like Uber, Ola, Swiggy, and Zomato to register all gig workers, provide clear contracts and work reports, and remit fee deductions into a digital verific…