The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat announced on Saturday, 27 June 2026 that Bharat Taxi, a cooperative-model ride service, has been formally launched in Gujarat, with Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah calling the day the single biggest in India's mobility sector.

What Was Said at the Launch

Speaking at the event, Amit Shah described the core purpose of Bharat Taxi as ending the exploitation of both drivers and passengers while restoring dignity to drivers — 'સારથીઓ અને ગ્રાહકોનું શોષણ અટકે તેમજ સારથીઓનું સન્માન જળવાઈ' ('stopping the exploitation of drivers and passengers and preserving the dignity of drivers'). He expressed the resolve to make this cooperative model a success through collective participation.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel described the launch as a commitment to strengthening the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission and said Bharat Taxi should be seen not merely as a service but as a 'જનઆંદોલન' — a people's movement. He also outlined the broader benefits the service is expected to deliver to commuters and driver-members alike.

Context

The launch reflects a deliberate central-government push, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direction, to move the cooperative sector beyond its traditional strongholds in dairy, credit and agriculture. The Ministry of Cooperation, created in July 2021 as a standalone ministry, was specifically designed to enable cooperatives to enter new economic domains — including urban mobility.

The Chief Minister noted that Amit Shah has been working to transform cooperative societies into entities that can compete with corporate companies, and that Bharat Taxi is the clearest example of that ambition. Gujarat was chosen as the launch state, building on its dense network of existing cooperative institutions.

Policy Backdrop

The structural foundation for Bharat Taxi was laid through amendments to the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, passed in 2023, which improved governance, transparency and ease of doing business for cooperatives. These changes allowed cooperative entities to operate at scale in sectors previously dominated by private aggregators.

Since 2021, the Union government has extended the cooperative framework into retail, housing, health and now mobility, with the stated goal of curbing exploitation by private platforms and promoting collective ownership. The Atmanirbhar Bharat framing positions such ventures as instruments of domestic value creation and employment generation.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries identified at the launch are taxi drivers — referred to as sārathīs (charioteers) — who would own a stake in the cooperative rather than paying commissions to a private aggregator. Urban commuters are also cited as beneficiaries through fair, non-surge-based pricing.

Gujarat's existing cooperative ecosystem, anchored by institutions in dairy and credit, provides an organisational template for onboarding driver-members and managing the service collectively. The Chief Minister affirmed the state's commitment to giving the cooperative sector new direction through various fresh initiatives alongside this launch.

What's Next

The focus now shifts to the state-wise rollout schedule for Bharat Taxi beyond Gujarat, the regulatory framework that will govern cooperative gig platforms, and how the service performs against established private aggregators on metrics such as driver earnings and passenger fares. The success or failure of the Gujarat pilot is likely to determine the pace of expansion to other states and the depth of follow-up legislation at the central level.