India, Nov. 12 -- The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed letting a car rental business run on as few as five vehicles, down from 50, in a draft rewrite of the Rent-a-Cab Scheme 2026 that would replace the 1989 rules in their entirety for the first time in 37 years.

Under the draft, an operator would need at least five cars, two of them stationed at each place of operation. The ministry's reasoning is that a lower entry threshold brings in small operators, local firms and start-ups, and lets existing companies open in more cities without carrying a large idle fleet. The 1989 framework was amended in 2021, but only to extend it to battery-operated cabs and vehicles running on methanol and ethanol that are ex...