Ola, Uber alternative in India: Amit Shah reveals plan to launch cooperative-run taxi service

The Centre will soon launch a large-scale cooperative taxi service as an alternative to private ride-hailing platforms like Uber and Ola, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Shah said the initiative is part of the government's commitment to cooperative-based economic growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’.

“In the coming months, we will establish a very big cooperative taxi service modeled after Uber and Ola,” Shah said. “The profits from this cooperative society will not go to businessmen but directly to the drivers. This is the model we are bringing to life.”

Under the initiative, the registration of two-wheelers, taxis, rickshaws, and four-wheelers will be possible.

Shah was replying to a discussion on the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025, which was later passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to establish the country’s first cooperative university to strengthen the rural economy, promote self-employment and entrepreneurship, and foster innovation and research in the cooperative sector.

The minister also announced that a cooperative insurance company would soon be set up to cater specifically to the cooperative sector. “In a short time, it will become the largest private sector insurance company,” he said.

Highlighting the significance of cooperatives, Shah said the sector touches every Indian family in some way and contributes to agricultural development, rural progress, and employment generation.

He said the country is getting its first cooperative university after 75 years of independence, adding that the bill will strengthen the rural economy, develop the ecosystem of self-employment and small entrepreneurship, increase social inclusion and increase opportunities to set new standards in innovation and research.

India has a history of successful cooperative ventures, Amul being the most notable among them.

The journey of Amul began in 1946 with 250 litres of milk in a town of Gujarat and has now become India's largest dairy brand.

In 2003, the turnover of Amul was ₹2882 crore, which has crossed ₹60,000 crore today.