Indians get hooked on 10-minute grocery apps, squeezing small retailers

In a middle-class suburb of Mumbai, workers at SoftBank-backed Swiggy's grocery warehouse race against time to deliver orders within 10 minutes. Their speed is tracked by the seconds on a screen that flashes red warnings for slowness.

Outside in sweltering heat, Swiggy's bikers, sporting the firm's trademark bright orange T-shirt, frantically collect packed grocery orders to deliver them nearby, while others return to tackle another shipment assigned on their app and waiting.

"Ideally, one needs to get done with the entire (pickup) process in 1 minute 30 seconds," warehouse manager Prateek Salunke said.