A drone could soon hover above your balcony, lowering a basket of biryani on a string. The concept, once confined to science fiction, is being tested in the U.S. by a company called Matternet. By 2027, it intends to launch drone deliveries for Dave’s Hot Chicken, with each drone carrying up to 5 kilograms and completing four to five deliveries per hour. The technology has already entered trial phases in India, where demand for rapid deliveries continues to climb.
India’s gig workforce, numbering over 10 million according to NITI Aayog, forms the foundation of this delivery system. However, drones may fundamentally alter its structure. Skye Air, a startup based in Gurugram, has already executed 3.6 million drone deliveries, including orders fulfilled in as little as seven minutes in Bengaluru and Gurugram. The transformation extends beyond speed—it also addresses financial pressures. New labor regulations now require delivery platforms to allocate 1% to 2% of their revenue toward gig worker social security funds, increasing operational costs.
Drones will not eliminate human labor entirely. While they efficiently handle traffic, they cannot manage the final delivery segment—dropping packages at designated hubs instead. The focus now shifts from whether drones will replace workers to how both systems can operate together.
Decades before drones entered the conversation, another quiet transformation unfolded in Indian households through cable television. A 2001 study by economists Robert Jensen and Emily Oster examined 2,700 rural households across five states, comparing villages with and without cable access. The findings were transformative: after cable arrived, women in those households demonstrated lower tolerance for domestic violence, reduced preference for sons, and greater control over healthcare decisions. These changes correlated with exposure to TV serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which aired from 2000 to 2008 and portrayed women in unconventional roles, educated, career-focused, and sometimes authoritative.
The study revealed that these narratives shifted perceptions of what was possible for women, though the effects were not universal. A follow-up analysis by Vegard Iversen and Richard Palmer-Jones showed that women without formal education, 54% of the original sample, experienced no significant behavioral changes. Cable television’s influence proved strongest among those already disposed to question societal norms.
The data suggests exposure alone does not guarantee transformation. Television did not provide women with jobs or financial independence, but it expanded their conception of possible futures. The question remains whether those futures will translate into tangible outcomes beyond the screen.
Skye Air’s drones release packages at designated hubs, requiring human intervention for the final delivery. This hybrid approach suggests gig workers will remain indispensable, though their roles may shift.
The 2001 study by Jensen and Oster highlighted cable television’s role in altering gender norms in rural India. Households with cable access were more likely to discuss women’s education, delayed marriages, and reduced fertility rates. The content itself drove these shifts: serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi frequently depicted women as decision-makers in household management, negotiations, or careers. For rural viewers, these portrayals created a contrast between their own lives and the possibilities shown on screen.
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