Jaipur Launches Bharat Taxi and 144 New Buses, Claims World's 6th Happiest City
Jaipur's week delivered back-to-back civic wins on July 26, when Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma launched India's cooperative ride-hailing platform Bharat Taxi—promising fares fifteen percent below Ola and Uber—and flagged off 144 new RSRTC Blue Line roadways buses from Heerapura to strengthen public transport across Rajasthan. The city's good news extended further with Time Out's 2026 World's Happiest Cities survey, drawn from responses by more than 24,000 people globally, placing Jaipur sixth in the world—the only Indian city in the top ten, ahead of both Chicago and Shanghai.
Bharat Taxi Arrives in Jaipur with Cooperative Fares; 144 New Buses Also Flagged Off
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma launched Bharat Taxi in Jaipur on July 26 at the Bhagwat Singh Mehta Auditorium at the OTS campus, inaugurating India's cooperative ride-hailing platform in the state capital. Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol attended the ceremony and described the platform as representing transformational change in India's cooperative sector. Bharat Taxi operates on a model in which drivers are stakeholders in the platform rather than merely service providers, and the service has more than eight hundred thousand registered drivers and an equal number of passengers across India. The platform promises fares ten to fifteen percent lower than those charged by Ola and Uber, with no surge pricing applied, so rates remain uniform even during peak hours. On comparable rides of up to eleven kilometres, commuters can expect to save approximately twenty-five rupees compared with other app-based taxi services. On the same day, CM Sharma also flagged off 144 new RSRTC Blue Line roadways buses from the Heerapura bus terminal in Jaipur, performing a puja ceremony before the flag-off. The Blue Line buses represent a significant addition to the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation fleet. Together the taxi platform launch and the bus additions mark a concerted state government effort to modernise and diversify public and shared transport options for residents of Jaipur and across Rajasthan. [2]
🪔 Time Out Names Jaipur the World's Sixth Happiest City in 2026
Jaipur has been named the sixth happiest city in the world in Time Out's 2026 World's Happiest Cities rankings, making it the only Indian city to break into the global top ten. The index was compiled from responses by more than twenty-four thousand people across the globe, who were asked to rate their cities across a range of factors including food, culture, green spaces, nightlife, community spirit, and overall sense of personal happiness. The Pink City's sixth-place finish placed it ahead of Chicago, which ranked seventh, and Shanghai, which came in ninth—a result that drew widespread attention and celebration across the country. The broader top ten comprised Panama City in Panama, Guadalajara in Mexico, Medellin in Colombia, Krakow in Poland, Jaipur in India, Chicago in the United States, Cape Town in South Africa, Shanghai in China, and Gothenburg in Sweden. The ranking has been welcomed in Jaipur and across Rajasthan as recognition of the city's quality of life and the vitality of its communities, and local officials have highlighted the result as evidence of Jaipur's growing international profile. The index result arrives in the same week that the city announced significant new public transport investments through Bharat Taxi and the addition of 144 roadways buses, underscoring what state officials have framed as a period of sustained civic momentum. [9]
Land Disputes and Clearances Stall Rs 11,560-Crore AMRUT 2.0 Projects Across Rajasthan
Three hundred and sixty-three urban infrastructure projects approved under the AMRUT 2.0 programme across Rajasthan, with a combined value of approximately eleven thousand five hundred and sixty crore rupees, are facing significant delays due to unresolved land disputes and pending administrative and environmental clearances. The central government has flagged the slow pace of implementation, raising concerns ahead of what is expected to be a politically sensitive period for urban local bodies. The approved projects span four major categories: 178 water supply schemes valued at roughly five thousand and ninety-nine crore rupees; 48 sewerage and septage management projects totalling approximately five thousand nine hundred and fifty crore rupees; 134 water body rejuvenation projects worth around five hundred and five crore rupees; and three green space and park development schemes. The delays mean that residents in several Rajasthan cities continue to wait for improved water supply and drainage infrastructure that the AMRUT programme was designed to deliver. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has previously reviewed major state infrastructure programmes and warned officials that timely delivery is non-negotiable, directing that personal accountability be fixed in cases of delay. Land acquisition complications and pending clearances have been identified as the primary barriers holding back on-ground execution across multiple project sites. [1]
Sources: [2] Swarajya · [9] NDTV · [1] The Times of India