India's first driver-owned 'Bharat Taxi' to launch as a cooperative ride-hailing service

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will launch 'Bharat Taxi' in Gujarat — India's first cooperative, driver-owned ride-hailing platform, where the driver is the owner ('Saarthi Hi Maalik'), extending the 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' vision to urban mobility.

What happened

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will launch the country's first cooperation-based taxi service, 'Bharat Taxi', in Gujarat on 27 June 2026, at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar.
• Soft-launched in December 2025, Bharat Taxi is India's first driver-owned ride-hailing service — a digital mobility platform on cooperative principles giving shape to 'Saarthi Hi Maalik' (the driver is the owner).
• Under this model, taxi drivers are not merely service providers but participants and owners of the platform, sharing in economic empowerment, social security and ownership.
• It is developed by Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited with the support of eight major cooperative institutions — NCDC, GCMMF (Amul), NDDB, NAFED, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NABARD and NCEL.
• The initiative extends the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' (prosperity through cooperation) to the transport and mobility sector; over 4,000 'Saarthis' associated with Bharat Taxi will participate.

For Prelims

• Ministry of Cooperation: Carved out in 2021 (earlier under Agriculture); Amit Shah is its first minister. Its motto is 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' (Prosperity through Cooperation).
• Bharat Taxi: India's first driver-owned, cooperative ride-hailing platform ('Saarthi Hi Maalik') by Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited — drivers are co-owners, not just gig workers.
• NCEL: The National Cooperative Exports Limited (2023) — one of three new national multi-state cooperatives, alongside BBSSL (seeds) and the National Cooperative Organics Limited.
• Key cooperatives behind it: NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation), GCMMF (Amul), NDDB (dairy), NAFED (agri-marketing), IFFCO & KRIBHCO (fertiliser cooperatives), NABARD (rural finance), NCEL (exports).
• Cooperative principle: A cooperative is a member-owned, democratically controlled enterprise (one-member-one-vote) where members share profits/benefits — here applied to mobility.
• Constitutional basis: The 97th Constitutional Amendment (2011) made forming cooperative societies a fundamental right (Art 19(1)(c)) and added Part IXB; cooperatives are largely a State subject.
• Don't confuse: A driver-owned cooperative platform (members share ownership/profit) is distinct from a private aggregator (Ola/Uber), where drivers are partners/contractors, not owners.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS2.10 · GS3.2 · Linkage L2