Food delivery platform Swiggy has increased its platform fee to ₹17.58 per order, according to its app on Tuesday, following a similar hike by rival Zomato in recent days. Swiggy had last raised its platform fee in September of last year.
The fee increases by Swiggy and Zomato come amid climbing crude oil prices driven by the Middle East conflict, which is expected to push up delivery costs, as per PTI.
The new fee of ₹17.58 per order includes GST, while Zomato charges ₹14.90 on a pre-GST basis. With this increase, the platform fees charged by both Swiggy and Zomato are now effectively aligned at around ₹17.58 per order.
On 20 March, Zomato had raised its platform fee by ₹2.40, bringing it to ₹14.90 per order before GST.
Platform fees are fixed, per-order charges that are added on top of delivery and restaurant fees, designed to cover operating costs, technology upkeep, and customer support services.
Middle East crisis
The price of a barrel of Brent crude rose 3.5% to $103.42, following a drop of more than 10% the previous day. As Iran reportedly blocks the strategic Strait of Hormuz, disruptions to oil, gas, and maritime trade routes are increasingly threatening global economic stability.
This comes as the conflict in West Asia enters its 24th day, following the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, which resulted in the death of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba Khamenei, his son, has since been appointed as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, acknowledging the unprecedented challenges India is facing in the supply of essential commodities such as crude oil, gas, and fertilisers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that moving forward, “self-reliance was the only option.”
Recognising the rapidly evolving situation, he urged citizens to stay prepared for any eventuality.
Highlighting the global energy crisis triggered by the war, he also cautioned against individuals exploiting the situation and directed state governments to curb black marketing and hoarding. In such a critical scenario, PM Modi emphasised the importance of sending a unified message of peace and dialogue to the world from the Upper House of Parliament.
He added that the government is actively seeking to procure gas and crude oil from all possible sources, and these efforts will continue in the coming days to ensure that the common people are not adversely affected.
(With inputs from PTI)
