Why one platform can't solve the housing problem and what AWS teaches us about the solution
A personal note: Last month, I met Rajesh, a Bengaluru delivery partner who sleeps in a 6x6 foot space he rents for ₹2,500 per month, 90 minutes from his delivery zone. He sets three alarms to wake at 4 AM, travels 90 minutes to reach Electronics City, and works until his phone battery dies because there's nowhere to charge it. His story isn't unique. It's the story of 7.7 million Indians. And it’s why I’m writing this.
Key Takeaways
- India’s gig economy is expected to employ 23.5 million by 2030, but the country’s housing infrastructure hasn’t kept pace.
- Platforms cannot solve this themselves due to fundamental conflicts of interest.
- Like AWS and TSMC, gig worker housing must be neutral infrastructure.
- Investment needed: ₹50,000 crores. Economic benefit: ₹1,000,000 crores.
The Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
India’s platform economy currently employs 7.7 million workers, projected to reach 23.5 million by 2030, according to NITI Aayog. Yet these digital warriors live in analog squalor:
- Mumbai: Riders pay ₹3,000–5,000 to share 10x10 rooms with 4–6 others in Dharavi.
- Bengaluru: Drivers sleep in parking lots because housing near work zones costs ₹15,000+.
- Delhi: Workers travel 2+ hours each way from satellite towns.
- Overall, gig workers spend 30–40% of income on substandard housing, compared to 20–25% for formal workers.
“When your workforce spends 4 hours commuting and 40% of earnings on slum housing, you’re not running a 21st-century platform — you’re operating a 19th-century factory with an app.”
Why Platforms Can't and Won't Solve This Themselves
Here’s what every platform CEO knows but won’t say publicly: they have zero incentive to solve worker housing. The conflicts of interest are insurmountable:
- The Prisoner’s Dilemma: If Platform A builds housing, those riders become costlier than Platform B’s. If neither builds, competition remains "fair."
Real example: In 2019, a ride-hailing platform in Bengaluru tried driver rest areas. Its rival didn’t follow. The initiative died in six months. - The Lock-in Problem: Housing creates captive labor. Workers saw dorms as too controlling—like being married to the platform.
- The Switching Cost Disaster: Today, 68% of gig workers multi-app. Platform-owned housing reduces flexibility, thus breaking the core model of gig work.
- The Balance Sheet Problem: Building housing at scale requires astronomical capital.
CFO's nightmare: “You want us to become India’s largest real estate company while competing on delivery times?”
The Only Solution: Neutral Infrastructure
Just like AWS doesn’t restrict who uses its servers, gig housing must be platform-agnostic. Here's how the model works:
- Base Layer: Government offers land near metro/hubs, like spectrum for telecom.
- Middle Layer: Independent firms manage facilities, collect rent, and maintain standards.
- Top Layer: Open APIs allow platforms to offer value-added services (charging, training, insurance, etc.).
This three-tiered model promotes competition and worker choice — not dependency.
The Multiplier Effect: Learning from TSMC
Taiwan’s TSMC seemed like just a factory. It became the backbone of a $500B industry.
Similarly, ₹50,000 crores invested into worker housing can:
- Save 4 hours daily per worker
- Increase delivery volumes by 20%
- Reduce worker cost by 40%
- Enable Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to join the platform economy
- Move 25 million people into the middle class
“Infrastructure isn’t about roads—it’s about where roads let you go.”
The Window Is Closing
India faces a 1987-style decision like Taiwan did with semiconductors:
Option 1: Build It Right
- Government provides urban land
- Platforms co-fund
- Neutral entity operates
- Workers get dignity, platforms gain efficiency
Option 2: Let It Sprawl
- 20M gig workers in slums by 2030
- Platform growth caps at 60%
- Global leadership lost
- Rising inequality, social unrest
China controlled. The US ignored. India can choose better.
The Call to Action
To execute this plan:
- Policymakers must form Special Housing Zones
- Platforms should form a neutral consortium and open their housing APIs
- A small GST levy should fund worker housing
The Question That Matters
1994: Bezos asked, “What if we let anyone sell anything online?”
2006: “What if we let anyone use our servers?”
2024: “What if we gave every gig worker a home near their work?”
The answer will determine whether India leads or lags the global platform economy.
AWS didn’t debate. It built.
TSMC didn’t wait. It scaled. India must do the same—before parking lots become permanent housing.
Platforms route people. The government owns the land. The workers build the economy.
All three must unite around neutral infrastructure, not because it’s ideal, but because it’s the only path forward.
“The infrastructure we skip today becomes the bottleneck we cannot solve tomorrow.”
India has one chance to get this right. Until then, Rajesh will still wake up at 4 AM.
What’s Your Take?
Is platform-neutral housing infrastructure the solution, or is there another path?
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I write from the blind spots of the Indian economy—where labor moves, systems fail, and no one’s accountable.
This is not commentary. It’s documentation.
Built while building. Written while working. No performative wisdom here.
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