Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday performed the Bhoomi Pujan of the NHEC Multi-State Cooperative Society project at Talegaon Dabhade in Pune district and launched Bharat Taxi services for Pune, the Ministry of Cooperation said. At the same programme, he virtually inaugurated the Western Regional Office of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS), presented share certificates to four Bharat Taxi driver-partners, called Sarathis, and a Letter of Intent was exchanged between NHEC and IDMC Limited.

Source: Ministry of Cooperation release via CrackTarget

The launch took place at the National Heavy Engineering Cooperative Limited premises in Talegaon Dabhade during Shah's two-day Pune visit on November 15 and 16, which also included a programme marking 60 years of Bharat Forge in Mundhwa. Maharashtra's Chief Minister and Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol were also expected at the event, DCN News reported.

Source: DCN News

50,000 drivers registered, organisers say

Keshav Kshirsagar, president of the Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha, said more than 50,000 cab and autorickshaw drivers from Pune have already registered with the platform and are prepared to begin operations. 'Bharat Taxi has been introduced as a cooperative alternative to curb the alleged exploitation of drivers and passengers by private aggregator companies. The app is available on the Google Play Store, with separate applications for passengers and drivers. More than 50,000 people have registered so far, and we have entered into an agreement for just Rs 1,' Kshirsagar said. The exploitation claim is the organisers' allegation against private aggregators, not an established finding.

Source: DCN News

Under its cooperative model, Bharat Taxi promises transparent, fixed fares regardless of weather or demand, instead of the surge pricing used by private aggregators, and says drivers will keep a larger share of their earnings. The service is run by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, in which the drivers are members and owners; it began commercial operations in Delhi-NCR on February 5, 2026, also runs in some Gujarat cities, and its organisers plan to reach every state within three years.

Source: PuneRiPages

The Pune programme is part of the Cooperation Ministry's 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' push to make cooperative institutions more capable, transparent and competitive, the ministry said. Fares for Pune rides and the date from which passenger bookings open in the city had not been published by the cooperative at the time of the launch reports.