Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: In a world of global app-based ride-hailing giants, India is charting its own course — one rooted in trust, inclusion, and technology. The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Digital India Corporation and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) have joined hands with Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited (brand name: Bharat Taxi) in order to promote a cooperative-driven national ride-hailing service.
National e-Governance Division (NeGD) joins hands with Bharat Taxi — a cooperative-driven, citizen-first national ride-hailing initiative, to be launched in December
Bharat Taxi is being jointly promoted by leading cooperative and financial institutions including National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Iffco, Amul, Kribhco, Nafed, Nabard, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and NCEL. The platform embodies the cooperative movement’s spirit while aligning seamlessly with the vision of the Government’s flagship Digital India programme for delivering inclusive, citizen-centric, and technology-enabled public services.
Interestingly, a cooperative for taxis is not a new thing globally. Even in the US, which gave birth to the most famous commercial app-based taxi service Uber, a couple of successful cooperatives exist which are run by taxi drivers. First is The Drivers Cooperative in New York City which was launched in 2020 and quickly became the largest workers’ cooperative in the country by membership.
India’s mobility landscape is set for a major transformation with the upcoming launch of Bharat Taxi in December 2025. The step aims to transform mobility ecosystem with a cooperative-driven, transparent, and citizen-first ride-hailing platform.
Collaboration to enable secure integration with DigiLocker, Umang, and API Setu for unified digital access to enhance secure and seamless Bharat Taxi service delivery
It focuses on non-emergency medical transportation and paratransit, generating millions in revenue, with the vast majority going directly to its driver-members. Second such venture is in the state of Colorado, Denver, where there is Union Taxi. It is the locals’ answer to high leasing fees and poor working conditions in the traditional taxi industry.
Moved by similar concerns, NeGD and Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited have formalised their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at extending strategic advisory and technical support in the areas of platform integration, cybersecurity, privacy, compliance and governance.
Under this collaboration, NeGD has partnered for providing the Bharat Taxi platform with following services:
Platform integration and technical architecture: Integration of the Bharat Taxi platform with national digital platforms such as DigiLocker, Umang, and API Setu to enable seamless identity verification and service delivery.
Security, compliance & infrastructure: Ensuring adherence to Government of India’s data protection norms and cybersecurity standards and advising on robust technical infrastructure.
Programme advisory: Providing governance and programme management support leveraging NeGD’s institutional experience in designing and implementing large-scale national platforms.
UI / UX & accessibility: Offering advisory inputs on user interface design, multilingual capabilities, and inclusive access features for all citizens.
Through this partnership, NeGD reaffirms its commitment to building secure, interoperable and inclusive digital public platforms that drive India’s digital governance objectives and empower citizens at scale.