Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced that the "Bharat Taxi" service will soon be launched by the central government. Speaking at a cooperative conference in Panchkula, Haryana, on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, Shah highlighted that this initiative by the Ministry of Cooperation aims to enhance customer convenience and significantly increase the income of drivers.
The "Bharat Taxi" service will operate on a cooperative model, ensuring that the profits are directly shared with the drivers. Shah emphasized the driver-centric nature of the platform, stating that "every bit of its profit will go to the driver brothers," distinguishing it from investor-led ride-hailing services. This approach aims to eliminate the dependency of commercial vehicle drivers on private companies, where a significant portion of their earnings is taken as commission.
The digital service, to be run by the Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Ltd, is slated to begin full national operations in January 2026, after beta trials in Delhi and Gujarat. The cooperative launched its soft rollout on November 10, initially through Delhi Traffic Police's prepaid taxi booths at Delhi International Airport. The driver-facing app went live in Delhi on November 13 and in Rajkot, Gujarat, on November 26.
"Bharat Taxi" distinguishes itself from private aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido, which typically charge drivers commissions ranging from 20% to 30%. Instead, "Bharat Taxi" will operate on a zero-commission model, allowing drivers to retain the full fare and pay a small membership fee on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to sustain the platform.
The platform has already registered over 51,000 drivers across cars, autos, and bikes in New Delhi and Saurashtra, with plans to reach 100,000 drivers nationwide by 2030. The initiative is backed by eight major cooperative institutions, including the National Cooperative Development Corporation, Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation), NABARD, IFFCO, and the National Dairy Development Board. Amul's Managing Director, Jayen Mehta, serves as chairman.
"Bharat Taxi" will operate via a mobile application with features such as transparent fares, vehicle tracking, multilingual support, and 24/7 customer service, alongside safety measures for passengers. The platform also promises no surge pricing and integration with Delhi Metro for seamless last-mile connectivity. A formal partnership with Delhi Police is intended to strengthen safety standards for both drivers and riders.
Shah expressed confidence that "Bharat Taxi" will soon become India's number one taxi operating company. He also highlighted Haryana's contributions to food security, dairy production, sports, and national security, emphasizing the need to integrate agriculture, livestock, and cooperative structures for broader economic growth. He noted the increase in government spending under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, with the agriculture budget rising from ₹22,000 crore in 2014 to ₹1.27 lakh crore, and the rural development budget increasing from ₹80,000 crore to ₹1.87 lakh crore.
