Fixing what isn't broken

The Indian state has an unfortunate habit of trying to “fix” what is not broken. This interventionist mind-set is now playing itself out in one of the few sectors that has managed to provide growth in employment in the past few years, namely the ride-hailing business. The Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways has just issued guidelines for motor vehicle aggregators under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act of 2019. The guidelines are meddlesome and will leave riders, consumers, and businesses all worse off. Not all the interventions are unnecessary. For example, requiring the app to enforce a mandatory stoppage