"We have issued guidelines to states that app-based cab companies should be treated as a normal cab and there should be stringent background checks of drivers employed to ensure safety of passengers," an official told PTI.
The guidelines may end uncertainty on how app-based service providers should operate in the country.
The guidelines mention that such persons who have been convicted in the past for any cognizable offence should not be inducted as a driver in view of the passenger safety, the official said.
"We welcome the advisory from the Ministry of Road Transport and we believe this is a major step towards positively impacting the ecosystem and its stakeholders, that technology platforms like ours have created," Ola said in a statement.
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It added, "We will continue to work with the government, under the aegis of this progressive directive, offering our complete support and commitment towards building mobility for a billion people."
"App-based cab companies should not hide behind the garb of aggregators or developer of digital technology. An app-based cab should be treated as a normal cab.
The Delhi government had on January 1 banned operation of app-based cab services till they complied with the guidelines of Radio Taxi Scheme of 2006, which was amended on December 26 last year. The scheme was amended after a woman executive was allegedly raped in an Uber cab in December last year.
The January 1 order was challenged by Ola before the high court, which on July 29 had passed an interim order upholding Delhi government's decision.