BENGALURU: Uber has appointed Amit Jain, a former top executive at US-based Rent.com, as its India president, as the online taxi aggregator becomes more aggressive and makes bigger bets on its largest market outside the United States. Uber, launched in India 19 months ago starting with three employees in Bengaluru, has expanded to 11 cities and now has a staff of more than 100 people, led by city-based general managers. But it faces tough competition from domestic market leader Ola and has run into regulatory hurdles in some cities. “Success in India is a global priority for us,” Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in an email. “(Amit’s) experience as an operator, building and scaling world-class teams will be invaluable as we enter the next phase of Uber India’s growth.” Jain, 38, who will lead operations and strategy in India, has already settled into his new role and is now based out of New Delhi. Prior to his stint at Rent, the IIT-Delhi and Stanford University alumnus held executive positions including as senior adviser at TPG Capital; vice president at Nexeo Solutions; and associate partner at McKinsey. “In India, Uber is helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, empowering drivers with higher earnings potential and flexible work hours, and providing millions of consumers with a safe, reliable and convenient mode of transport,” Jain said in the email. “I am humbled to be a part of this deeply committed and passionate team that is the driving force for change for millions of Indians.” The taxi-hailing firm’s India revenue run rate – an annualized projection extrapolated from the latest revenue numbers – is close to Rs 1,100 crore ($200 million). “Uber expects this to increase by 35% at the end of July,” said a person familiar with developments at the company, declining to be identified. “Uber continues to see phenomenal steady growth of 40% every month in India as we increase our presence and reliability in the 11 cities across India where we are operational,” said Allen Penn, head of Asia operations at the company. Larger Bengaluru-based rival Ola, which operates in more than 100 Indian cities, is tracking a run rate of $450 million-$500 million, ET reported last week. Ola executives said the company is expected to reach $1 billion in revenue in six months. Uber and Ola have starkly contrasting approaches to expansion. While Ola focusses on increasing its presence in smaller towns and cities, Uber digs deeper into its existing markets before moving to the next city. “We take a phased approach to expansion and focus to deep dive in existing markets before we expand to suburban areas,” Penn said. “Only once we have achieved the same quality of service available to riders there do we look to additional cities to expand our larger geographic presence.” Uber plans to shortly begin operations in several more cities across India, Penn said. Trouble for the taxi aggregator began in India after one of the drivers on its network allegedly raped a passenger in Delhi in December. Since then, Uber as well as Ola have come under greater regulatory scrutiny for their safety procedures and business models – the Delhi government wants cab aggregators to operate under radio taxi licences. Ola, which is backed by Softbank, DST Global and GIC, plans to expand to at least 200 cities by the end of this year. The company’s revenue spurt has been aided by its $200-million acquisition of rival TaxiForSure, whose revenue has doubled since the deal closed in March. Ola still accounts for over 80% of the combined revenue. According to a Goldman Sachs report titled ‘India rising internet’, the domestic online car rental market is expected to reach $1.4 billion by 2030. “(Taxi aggregators) are looking at aggressive marketing campaigns and deep discounts as a tool to retain or attract new customers. It is (also) important to address the larger issues like congestion, parking, air pollution, safety and connectivity,” said Jaspal Singh, cofounder of Valoriser Consultants, which provides market research services for transportation companies. “Driver quality is another issue as most of the drivers are now looking for lucrative business and keep shuffling between operators. The industry should come together to build reliable database of quality drivers,” he said.