Why the FM has a point about app-based taxis impacting car demand

With economic slowdown, financial sector woes, the wait for stricter emission norms also at play, why don't car makers who can afford to slash prices do so to keep sales ticking, asks T N Ninan

Nirmala Sitharaman may have become the butt of jokes, but she has a point about app-based taxi services affecting car demand. Ola and Uber are reported to handle 2 million rides a day across the country. That could translate into anywhere up to half a million people finding a way to get by without owning cars — cumulatively, not suddenly. Add the reality of expanding metro systems (Delhi’s metro has 2.5 million riders daily), and people finally have real alternatives to car ownership. City bus systems (4 million riders in Delhi) were not an alternative, being often slow and usually