Lucknow: The cooperative-based Bharat Taxi service was launched in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, with operations beginning in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Kanpur and Prayagraj.
Union minister of state for cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, who addressed the launch programme in Lucknow, said Bharat Taxi is based on the principle of “Driver is the Owner”, with drivers, or Saarthis, positioned as stakeholders in the cooperative model.
The launch was accompanied by the rollout of three other initiatives — the Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana portal, the Urvarak Setu mobile app of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperation Department and the UPCDC mobile app of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Database Centre.
The Airports Authority, Lucknow Metro Rail and Lucknow Police also exchanged Memoranda of Understanding with Bharat Taxi during the event.
Over 10 lakh Saarthis join Bharat Taxi
Mohol said more than 10 lakh Saarthis have joined Bharat Taxi since its launch in February 2026, with around 20,000 rides being completed every day. According to the ministry, about 40 lakh passengers have joined the service and more than ₹100 crore has been credited to Saarthis’ accounts over the past six months.
Around 40,000 Saarthis have registered across the five newly covered Uttar Pradesh cities, the minister said.
Unlike conventional aggregator models, the cooperative structure is intended to give drivers a stake in ownership and decision-making, while allowing earnings from rides to be credited directly to their accounts.
Cooperative sector gets technology push
Mohol said the Ministry of Cooperation has launched more than 160 initiatives over the past five years to modernise and expand the cooperative sector.
India currently has around 8.5 lakh cooperative societies with nearly 32 crore members, operating across about 30 sectors, according to the ministry.
Computerisation of around 80,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) is also underway nationwide at a cost of about ₹3,000 crore. The government is expanding the role of PACS beyond agricultural credit to areas such as foodgrain storage, insurance, organic products, seeds, Common Service Centres, PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and fuel distribution.
Uttar Pradesh expands cooperative membership
Mohol said around 54 lakh new members, including about 17.5 lakh farmers, have joined cooperative societies in Uttar Pradesh through the M-PACS membership campaign.
Around 6,300 PACS are being computerised in the state, while approximately 750 agricultural and rural cooperative bank units are also being covered.
Since April 2026, more than 1,200 new M-PACS, dairy, fisheries and other cooperative societies have been formed in Uttar Pradesh, adding about one lakh members, while nearly 22 lakh new members have joined existing cooperatives.
The minister also said around 5,200 Common Service Centres are being operated through PACS in the state, while about 7,000 M-PACS are functioning as PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras.
The event was attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, Cooperation Minister J.P. Rathore, Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh and senior state and central government officials. More than 50,000 people participated online from different districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Mohol said the expansion of cooperative services into areas such as mobility reflects the government’s broader push to use the cooperative model for employment, income generation and economic participation at the grassroots level.
