Indian food delivery platform Zomato has initiated a new safety response programme designed to automatically detect accidents involving its delivery partners, as reported by Financial Express.

The Accelerated Safety Response programme was launched at the Sustainability and Inclusivity: Role of the Platform Economy conference held in the Indian city of New Delhi in December 2024.

The programme, which can operate without needing manual intervention, leverages the delivery partner app to detect crashes, then promptly alerts Zomato's central response system to dispatch an ambulance to the accident location.

The food delivery giant emphasised that this technology-driven approach could "potentially save critical time in emergency situations."

Zomato has trained more than 45,000 delivery partners in emergency first aid, basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Zomato chief sustainability officer Anjalli Ravi Kumar was quoted by Livemint: “Sustainability is deeply ingrained in Zomato's core business ethos. Through the Accelerated Safety Response system, we aim to provide our delivery partners with immediate support during emergencies.”

India's Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari stated at the conference that India has 7.7 million delivery workers in 2024 - a number set to rise to 25 million by 2030.

The latest safety initiative is one of several initiatives designed to enhance the well-being of Zomato's delivery partners.

The company was recently ordered by the country’s tax department to pay Rs8.04bn ($94.8m) for non-payment of taxes and penalties between 2019 to 2022.  

The directive includes a demand for Rs4.02bn in outstanding taxes and an equal amount as a penalty.