<h1>App-based taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers strike over panic-button costs, illegal bike taxis, and fare policies.</h1> Drivers announced a nationwide one-day strike alleging that state declarations of many Central Government-approved panic button providers as unauthorized have forced costly device replacements (about Rs 12,000 each), causing severe financial hardship. The union also protests alleged illegal bike taxi services that purportedly deny accident victims insurance benefits, disputes ride aggregator fare policies as arbitrary, and links income loss to an expanded open permit policy for auto-rickshaws.