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Amit Shah launches 'Bharat Taxi', India's first driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform, in Gujarat

5 min readSource: The Financial ExpressArticle 1 of 10

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched 'Bharat Taxi' on June 27, 2026 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, describing it as India's first driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform. Built on the 'Saarthi Hi Maalik' (the driver is the owner) model, the zero-commission platform makes drivers not just service providers but participants and owners, entitling them to economic empowerment, social security and ownership benefits such as insurance, loans and pension. The service went live across 14 major Gujarat cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, with plans to expand to over 500 cities nationwide within two years. It is positioned as the world's largest driver-owned cooperative mobility organisation and falls under the Ministry of Cooperation.

Key Facts & Details

9 points
  • 1
    Amit Shah launched 'Bharat Taxi', India's first driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform, on June 27 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
  • 2
    It runs on the 'Saarthi Hi Maalik' (driver-is-owner) model with zero commission.
  • 3
    Drivers are owners and participants, with social security, insurance, loans and pension benefits.
  • 4
    The service launched across 14 Gujarat cities (Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and others).
  • 5
    It plans to expand to over 500 cities nationwide, including Mumbai and Kolkata, within two years.
  • 6
    It is positioned as the world's largest driver-owned cooperative mobility organisation, under the Ministry of Cooperation.

Deep Dive

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    Bharat Taxi challenges the commission-based aggregator model of private ride-hailing firms by returning earnings to drivers.
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    The platform aligns with the government's push to strengthen the cooperative sector under the Ministry of Cooperation, created in 2021.
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    It aims to reduce exploitation of drivers and offer fairer fares to commuters.
Q

Exam Focus

What is the name of India's first driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform launched in June 2026?

Related Topics

Bharat TaxiMinistry of CooperationAmit ShahCooperative sectorRide-hailing

Exam Relevance & Angle

Government and cooperative-sector initiatives are high-yield GA topics. The name (Bharat Taxi), the 'Saarthi Hi Maalik' model, the minister (Amit Shah) and the Ministry of Cooperation are exam hooks.

Target Exams

SBI POSBI ClerkIBPS POIBPS ClerkIBPS RRB OfficerIBPS RRB AssistantRBI Grade BRBI AssistantNABARD Grade ASSC CGLSSC CHSLRRB NTPCLIC AAONIACL AOUPSC CSEState PCS

Background & Context

The Ministry of Cooperation was created in 2021 to give a separate administrative and policy framework to India's cooperative movement, with Amit Shah as its first minister. A cooperative is a member-owned enterprise where users are also owners and share in profits. Ride-hailing in India has been dominated by commission-charging private aggregators; Bharat Taxi applies the cooperative model so that drivers collectively own the platform, retain earnings (zero commission) and gain social-security benefits. Gujarat, with its strong cooperative tradition, was chosen for the launch.

Related GK Concepts

Must Know
Ministry of CooperationCooperative sectorRide-hailingSaarthi Hi MaalikGig economy

Test Yourself

1 / 2

'Bharat Taxi', launched by Amit Shah in June 2026, is based on which model?

Source

The Financial Express

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SBI PO

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Amit Shah launches 'Bharat Taxi', India's first driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform, in Gujarat — Current Affairs 2026-06-27