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Tamil Nadu to offer ₹20,000 for gig workers to buy e-scooters
The announcement was made by the state's Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu.
Tamil Nadu finance minister Thangam Thenarasu announced while presenting the state's budget for financial year 2025-26 that the government will offer ₹20,000 to gig workers to aid them in buying electric scooters.
Thousands of gig workers employed with e-commerce platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto and Blinkit use electric scooters, or e-scooters, to deliver orders.
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Thenarasu said the state government is also introducing an insurance scheme for nearly 1.5 lakh workers to offer them and their family financial protection in the event of an accidental death or disability.
“A new scheme will be launched…to provide a subsidy of ₹20,000 each to 2,000 internet-based service workers to buy a new e-scooter,” Reuters quoted the minister as saying while unveiling the budget.
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He added that workers who have been enrolled with a state welfare body will be eligible for the funds.
Further details of the scheme will be revealed later, Labour Secretary Veera Raghava Rao told Reuters.
Tamil Nadu government will also construct lounges for the use of such workers in large cities like Chennai, where summer temperatures often cross 40 degree Celsius, and Coimbatore, a textile hub.
KC Gopikumar, the head of Tamil Nadu Food and Allied Products Delivery Workers Union, welcomes the subsidy scheme and welfare efforts of the government. He, however, urged the administration to extend the benefits to more workers and give them better working conditions like paid leave.
E-scooters sold by Ola start from ₹79,999 while those by Ather start from ₹99,999.
