India, June 27 -- Government-backed cooperative ride-hailing platform Bharat Taxi plans to expand to more than 500 cities and towns across India within the next 2 years, union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah said today.

He also alleged that private cab aggregators were engaging in unfair competitive practices by slashing fares to block Bharat Taxi's growth.

Speaking at the official launch of Bharat Taxi in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, Shah said the platform will rapidly expand its footprint across major cities before scaling nationwide.

"We will reach Pune, Mumbai, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata. Bharat Taxi will be in the top seven places, and within two years, combining big and small cities, we plan to roll out two-wheeler, a...