The Karnataka High Court permitted bike taxis to operate in the state, allowing a batch of petitions filed by cab aggregators Ola, Uber and Rapido against the ban on the service. The bench held that bikes used for taxi services fell within the definition of “transport vehicles” under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The state government cannot deny them permits on the grounds that bikes were not transport vehicles, said the court. Bike taxi operators could file applications to get contract carriage permits to operate motorcycles as bike taxis, it added.

In April, a single-judge bench ordered all bike taxi services to stop operations in Karnataka. The court had referred to a 2019 expert committee report, which considered the impact of bike taxis on traffic and safety. Unless the state government frames rules and guidelines to permit bike taxis, such vehicles cannot be permitted, the court had held. Read on.

Bike taxis are exploding in India – but are facing government roadblocks, writes Vineet Bhalla.

The Indian rupee fell to an all-time record low of 91.9 against the United States dollar. The Indian currency, sliding 41 paise during the day, continued to lose its value amid foreign fund outflows and risk aversion triggered by geopolitical tensions.

Speculative buying of the dollar by offshore players...

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