India, Dec. 27 -- Consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi has directed the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to probe ride-hailing platforms for alleged differential pricing tactics.

In a post on X, Joshi said that charging different fares for identical rides on Android and Apple devices by ride-hailing apps prima facie amounts to "unfair trade practice". Terming the tactics a "blatant disregard" for consumers' right to transparency, the minister said he has asked the consumer protection watchdog to submit a detailed report on the matter at the "earliest".

"Zero tolerance for consumer exploitation!! This Prima Facie looks like unfair trade practice where the cab-aggregators are alleged to be using differential pricing based o...