On 27 June 2026, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation launched "Bharat Taxi" — a cooperative-based mobility platform — for Gujarat, at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. Its defining feature is ownership: the drivers, called "Sarathis," are not merely drivers but shareholders in their own cooperative, rather than being dependent on an app-aggregator company. The Minister said more than 7 lakh Sarathis are already associated, that the service would reach 7 major cities before 31 July and over 500 cities and towns within two years, and that Bharat Taxi would support Sarathis with loans, insurance and business expansion. It even signed MoUs with bodies like Gujarat Metro Rail, the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, the Traffic Police, Ahmedabad Airport and Western Railway. For a CDS/OTA aspirant, this launch is a perfect doorway into a high-yield polity-and-economy theme: India's cooperative movement and the constitutional and institutional framework behind it.
What a cooperative is — and the model Bharat Taxi uses
The first idea to fix is the definition. A cooperative society is an autonomous association of persons who unite voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. Its hallmark is the principle of "one member, one vote" — control rests with members equally, regardless of how much capital each holds, unlike a company where votes follow shareholding.
Bharat Taxi applies exactly this logic to ride-hailing: instead of a private platform that treats drivers as gig workers taking a fare and paying a commission, the drivers collectively own the platform and share in its profits. This is the "driver-as-owner" model — and it is why the government frames it as giving Sarathis "respect, security and prosperity." It is a direct cooperative-sector answer to concerns about gig-economy precarity (low bargaining power, no social security, algorithm-driven fares). That intersection of welfare, ownership and the platform economy is exactly the kind of synthesis built up in the CDS/OTA polity notes.
"Sahkar se Samriddhi" and the Ministry of Cooperation
The slogan invoked at the launch — "Sahkar se Samriddhi" ("Prosperity through Cooperation") — is the official motto of a key institutional reform:
- In July 2021, the Government created a separate Ministry of Cooperation, carved out of the Ministry of Agriculture, to give the cooperative sector a distinct administrative and policy focus.
- Its stated aim is to build a "cooperative-based economic development model," strengthen cooperatives as a genuine "people's movement," and deepen them down to the grassroots.
Before this, cooperatives were handled within the agriculture ministry; the new ministry signalled that cooperatives would be treated as a third pillar of the economy alongside the public and private sectors. Bharat Taxi, multi-state seed/organic/export cooperatives, and the computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are all part of this push. Aspirants tracking governance reforms can follow such initiatives through the CDS/OTA daily current affairs feed.
The constitutional framework: 97th Amendment, Part IXB and Article 43B
This is the highest-yield slice for CDS polity. The cooperative sector has a specific constitutional architecture:
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The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 gave cooperatives constitutional status. It made three changes: 1. It amended Article 19(1)(c) to add the words "cooperative societies" — making the right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right. 2. It inserted a new Part IX-B (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT), titled "The Co-operative Societies," laying down rules for their incorporation, democratic functioning, elections and management. 3. It added Article 43-B in the Directive Principles of State Policy, directing the State to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of cooperatives.
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A crucial federalism point: "cooperative societies" is a State subject — Entry 32 of the State List — so primarily the states legislate on them. Multi-state cooperative societies fall under the Union (Entry 44, Union List), governed by the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act.
- Because of this, in 2021 the Supreme Court (in Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah) struck down Part IX-B insofar as it applied to cooperatives operating within a single state, holding that it encroached on a State subject without the required ratification by states — while upholding it for multi-state cooperatives. This Centre–State balance is a favourite examiner trap.
A clean revision line: 97th Amendment (2011) → Article 19(1)(c) + Part IX-B + Article 43-B → cooperatives a State subject (Entry 32) → multi-state coops a Union subject (Entry 44) → 2021 SC ruling on Part IX-B.
The roots and reach of India's cooperative movement
A little history and scale rounds out the answer:
- India's cooperative movement is over a century old, beginning with the Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904, enacted to free farmers from moneylenders.
- It grew into one of the largest cooperative networks in the world, spanning lakhs of societies and touching the lives of a large share of the rural population.
- Iconic success stories anchor the static GK: the AMUL / Anand model of dairy cooperatives (the foundation of Operation Flood, the White Revolution), sugar cooperatives in Maharashtra, credit cooperatives, housing and consumer cooperatives, and the ubiquitous Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) at the village level.
Newer reforms include the National Cooperative Database, the computerisation of PACS, and new national-level multi-state cooperatives for seeds, organics and exports — all aimed at modernising the sector. Bharat Taxi extends the same idea into urban services and the platform economy. These threads of welfare-through-institutions are exactly what serving-officer faculty develop in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
The big picture for an aspirant
Tie it together. A cooperative is a voluntary, member-owned, democratically-controlled enterprise (one member, one vote); Bharat Taxi applies that to ride-hailing, making drivers ("Sarathis") owner-shareholders rather than gig workers — a cooperative answer to gig-economy insecurity. The reform is driven by the Ministry of Cooperation (created July 2021) under the motto "Sahkar se Samriddhi." Constitutionally, the 97th Amendment, 2011 added "cooperative societies" to Article 19(1)(c), inserted Part IX-B, and added Article 43-B (DPSP); cooperatives are a State subject (Entry 32), multi-state ones a Union subject (Entry 44), and the 2021 Supreme Court ruling trimmed Part IX-B for within-state cooperatives. Add the historical anchors — 1904 Act, AMUL/Anand model, PACS — and you have a complete, examinable fact-set linking polity, federalism, the economy and welfare, plus a strong essay and SSB-interview angle on inclusive growth.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. The separate Ministry of Cooperation was created in which year? (a) 2014 (b) 2019 (c) 2021 (d) 2023 → (c) — established in July 2021, carved out of the Ministry of Agriculture; motto "Sahkar se Samriddhi."
Q2. The defining democratic principle of a cooperative society is: (a) one share, one vote (b) one member, one vote (c) votes proportional to capital (d) appointment by government → (b) — control is equal among members, regardless of capital contributed.
Q3. The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 added which new Part to the Constitution? (a) Part IX (Panchayats) (b) Part IX-A (Municipalities) (c) Part IX-B (Co-operative Societies) (d) Part XIV-A → (c) — Part IX-B (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT) on cooperative societies.
Q4. The 97th Amendment made the right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right by amending which Article? (a) Article 14 (b) Article 19(1)(c) (c) Article 21 (d) Article 25 → (b) — "cooperative societies" was added to the freedom of association under Article 19(1)(c).
Q5. Which Directive Principle was added by the 97th Amendment for promoting cooperatives? (a) Article 39A (b) Article 43-B (c) Article 48A (d) Article 51A → (b) — Article 43-B directs the State to promote cooperatives.
Q6. In the Indian Constitution's scheme, "cooperative societies" is primarily a: (a) Union subject (b) State subject (Entry 32, State List) (c) Concurrent subject (d) residuary subject → (b) — within-state cooperatives are a State subject; multi-state cooperatives are a Union subject (Entry 44).
Q7. The first legislation to formally launch India's cooperative movement was the: (a) Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 (b) Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 (c) Companies Act, 1956 (d) RBI Act, 1934 → (a) — the 1904 Act, enacted to rescue farmers from moneylenders.
Q8. The AMUL "Anand model," a landmark of India's cooperative movement, is associated with: (a) sugar (b) dairy (the White Revolution) (c) housing (d) handlooms → (b) — dairy cooperatives, the basis of Operation Flood / the White Revolution.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Cooperatives are a reliable polity-and-economy set in CDS/OTA, with a strong federalism flavour. The high-probability items are the 97th Amendment, 2011 and its three changes (Article 19(1)(c), Part IX-B, Article 43-B), and the subject-list question — cooperatives as a State subject (Entry 32) versus multi-state cooperatives (Union, Entry 44). A favourite trap is matching Part IX (Panchayats) / IX-A (Municipalities) / IX-B (Cooperatives) to the right amendment (73rd / 74th / 97th). Static GK pairs landmarks to sectors (AMUL–dairy, 1904 Act–credit, PACS–village credit). The fresh 2026 hook is the Ministry of Cooperation's "Sahkar se Samriddhi" push and Bharat Taxi, the driver-owned cooperative ride-hailing platform — ideal for "which ministry / which model / gig-economy" framings. We avoid quoting any specific past-paper number; the pattern reflects how the theme recurs.
Preparing for CDS or OTA? The cooperative sector — the 97th Amendment, the State-vs-Union subject split and the AMUL/PACS landmarks — is high-yield polity GK and a ready-made essay on inclusive, people-led development. Track our daily CDS/OTA current affairs and train with serving-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Hitendra Deswal — Polity & current-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB release, 27 June 2026. Facts cross-verified.