Nitin Konde
20 January, 2016, Bangalore: Uber is all set to invest Rs 99 cr in the state of Karnataka after seeking concessions from the state government under the Information Technology Act. Though the government has cleared the project, but it had faced a strong opposition from state ministry of transport and road safety.
“The transport department is in the process of framing City Taxi Scheme 2015 under the section 39 of the MV Act 1988 for the aggregators in the state. Hence the question of implementation under the IT Act does not arise,” stated Dr. Ramegowda, Commissioner, State Transport Department, in a letter to the state dated September 29, 2015.
Meanwhile, the government has asked Uber to fulfil state rules including app-based taxi aggregator law which will be announced soon in the state. With this investment, the company is planning to expand its wings in India by setting up its first development centre in Bangalore. It has sought concessions in the form of ‘on-demand taxi aggregator regulations’, ‘ridesharing pilot and regulations’ and ‘concessions on water and electricity’.
Uber is also planning to increase its driver base from 15,000 to 1,000 in the state. It will also strengthen its team of full-time employee from 15 (currently) to 200 people.