In a significant step towards transforming the country’s mobility sector through cooperation, innovation and inclusive development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis today launched the ‘Bharat Taxi’ service in Maharashtra at a programme held at Navi Mumbai International Airport. The initiative has been launched in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ and under the leadership of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah. Union Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Murlidhar Mohol, along with Several dignitaries, representatives of the cooperative sector, officials and Sarathis associated with Bharat Taxi were present on the occasion. Bharat Taxi is advancing an equitable cooperative mobility model that does not regard taxi Sarathis merely as drivers, but recognises them as owners of the service, members of the cooperative institution and partners in its progress.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Murlidhar Mohol said that the launch of ‘Bharat Taxi’ in Maharashtra marks the beginning of a new chapter in the State’s cooperative sector. He said that Maharashtra is the sacred land of cooperation and has a rich cooperative tradition spanning more than 100 years. Of the more than 8.60 lakh cooperative societies functioning across the country, nearly 2.5 lakh are operating in Maharashtra alone, reflecting the State’s significant contribution to India’s cooperative movement.

Shri Murlidhar Mohol said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi established a separate Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 with the objective of strengthening the country’s rural economy, extending the benefits of cooperation to every sector and ensuring the comprehensive development of cooperative institutions. He said that after Shri Amit Shah, who possesses extensive experience in the cooperative sector, was appointed the country’s first Minister of Cooperation, the cooperative movement received a new direction, fresh momentum and wider expansion. He added that the rural economy and the cooperative sector will play a significant role in realising the resolve of a developed India by 2047.

The Union Minister of State for Cooperation said that, since the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation, nearly 152 major decisions have been taken over the past five years to strengthen the cooperative sector. These include the new National Cooperation Policy, the target of establishing two lakh new multipurpose cooperative societies across the country and initiatives to make Primary Agricultural Credit Societies—PACS—economically viable. He informed that nearly 40,000 new cooperative societies have already been established.

Shri Murlidhar Mohol said that PACS are being computerised at a cost of nearly ₹3,000 crore and have been enabled to undertake more than 25 types of economic and commercial activities. Nearly 39,000 cooperative societies across the country are operating Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras, while around 54,000 PACS are providing services as Common Service Centres. Cooperative institutions are now also operating petrol pumps and Jan Aushadhi Kendras and participating in grain storage and various rural service activities. These efforts are aimed at strengthening village-level cooperative institutions and thereby making farmers, villages, talukas, districts and States economically empowered and prosperous. He said that the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited—BBSSL, National Cooperative Organics Limited—NCOL and National Cooperative Exports Limited—NCEL have been established to provide farmers with quality seeds, assured markets for organic products and export opportunities for agricultural produce. Nearly 70,000 cooperative institutions from across the country have become members of these three national cooperative organisations. The country’s first cooperative university has also been established to develop trained human resources for the cooperative sector.

Referring to the steps taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis to strengthen Maharashtra’s cooperative sector, Shri Mohol said that financial assistance of nearly ₹10,000 crore has been provided to cooperative sugar mills in the State through the National Cooperative Development Corporation—NCDC. Activities related to ethanol and Compressed Biogas are also being promoted in the State. Important steps have also been taken towards creating an independent legal framework for the cooperative housing sector and promoting self-redevelopment. He said that Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to provide land for an initiative to promote tissue culture through cooperatives.

The Union Minister of State for Cooperation said that, through Maharashtra’s extensive network of cooperative institutions and organisations, the Bharat Taxi service will be expanded to different parts of the State in the coming period. He urged the youth and women of the State to join Bharat Taxi in large numbers. He said that Bharat Taxi will create new employment and self-employment opportunities while making Sarathis partners in the progress and profits of the cooperative institution. He called upon people to become “Sarathis of Cooperation” and “Partners in a Prosperous Maharashtra”.

Addressing the gathering, Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis said that the impact of the new revolution brought about in the cooperative sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the country’s first Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah is now visible in Maharashtra’s transportation sector as well. He said that, after Delhi and Gujarat, the launch of Bharat Taxi in Maharashtra will further advance the new model of employment through cooperation and prosperity through employment. From village-level primary cooperative societies to various cooperative organisations, efforts are being made to strengthen, modernise and bring greater transparency to these institutions, while also developing new business models for them. ‘Bharat Taxi’ is an important component of this transformative approach.

Shri Devendra Fadnavis said that app-based taxi services have made transportation more convenient for passengers, but challenges such as surge pricing, hidden charges and aggregator commissions have often caused difficulties for both passengers and drivers. Bharat Taxi offers a cooperative solution to these issues. Under this model, taxi Sarathis will not merely be drivers but will also be owners and shareholders of the cooperative institution and will receive a share in the profits earned by it. The service will have no surge pricing or hidden charges and will operate on the basis of a fixed service fee. He said that ‘Bharat Taxi’ will provide citizens with safe, reliable and high-quality transportation services. The safety of women passengers, courteous treatment of passengers, transparent fares and an accountable service delivery system will be accorded priority. Referring to the agreement with the late D. B. Patil Cooperative Transport Association as significant, he said that efforts would be made to provide taxis through credit facilities to nearly 3,000 to 4,000 local sons of the soil residing around Navi Mumbai International Airport and connect them with the ‘Bharat Taxi’ platform. This will create new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for local youth.

During the programme, share certificates and service kits were also distributed to Sarathis associated with Bharat Taxi. Bharat Taxi aims to replace an intermediary-centric system with a Sarathi-centric transportation framework, bring stability to their incomes, provide passengers with safe services at transparent fares and share the institution’s profits with its Sarathis. In the coming period, the ‘Bharat Taxi’ service will be expanded across Maharashtra in a phased manner by connecting more taxi drivers, youth, women and local communities with the platform, in collaboration with the State’s cooperative institutions, transport organisations and local bodies.

***

AK