Bharat Taxi will guarantee minimum base rate per kilometre for all drivers: Amit Shah

The newly launched cooperative cab service, Bharat Taxi, will guarantee a minimum base rate per kilometre for all drivers on its platform, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday (February 23, 2026). Emphasising that profits made from the service would be redirected to drivers, he also said it would take at least three years for the profits to be redirected.

“Those who toil the most should get the most profit,” Mr. Shah said, addressing a town hall interaction with cab and autorickshaw drivers from the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), and Gujarat. Existing ride-hailing aggregators had deliberately avoided setting a base rate to maximise corporate profits at the expense of workers, the Minister added. The cooperative ride-hailing platform would return 80% of profits to drivers based on kilometres driven, with the remaining 20% retained as cooperative capital.

“Whatever business you do, your minimum should be fixed. And whatever is more than that has to come back to you,” Mr. Shah said, elaborating that Bharat Taxi would follow the ‘Amul model’. Thirty-six lakh “mothers and sisters” had invested just ₹50 each and built Amul, which has a turnover of ₹1,25,000 crore, he said. “In a private dairy, the profit goes to the owner. In Amul, 85% goes back to the producer. Bharat Taxi is the same concept for mobility,” he said.

However, he said, resharing of profits would take at least three years. “Like a child we raise for 30-40 years and who then takes care of us, you have to be patient for the first three years,” he said.

Drivers on the platform can become co-owners by purchasing a share worth ₹500, Mr. Shah said, and seats on Bharat Taxi’s Board of Directors would be reserved for driver representatives as membership grew. “When the Board makes a policy against the drivers, your (cab drivers) representative will stand up and ask: ‘how can you do this to our company?’” he said.

The app’s ‘Saarathi Didi’ feature allows women passengers travelling alone to prioritise female drivers for their rides. Male drivers might earn comparatively less if women commuters started choosing women drivers, Mr. Shah said, adding it was a “collective responsibility” to ensure safety and livelihood opportunities for women.

Bharat Taxi would establish a three-channel grievance system for drivers (online, physical, and call centre modes) addressing long-standing complaints that existing platforms offered support only to passengers. All policy changes on the platform would be communicated to drivers at least one week in advance, via app notifications, the Minister said.

All drivers associated with the platform should stop referring to themselves as drivers and instead adopt the term ‘saarathi’ (charioteer), citing Lord Krishna’s role as Arjun’s charioteer in the Mahabharata. “Lord Krishna drove Arjun’s chariot and fought the whole war. Arjun touched his feet after the war. No work done with hard work is small,” Mr. Shah said.

Loans for new vehicles would be facilitated through cooperative banks using the taxi as mortgage, Mr. Shah said, while insurance would be offered via IFFCO Tokyo at minimum premiums under a tie-up with the platform.

Bharat Taxi, a cooperative for cab services, started functioning on January 1 in some parts of India, including Delhi. On February 5, the Home Minister formally launched the app after a one month pilot run.