Uber's decision to pilot its carpooling brand UberPool in one city in India takes on greater significance this week in light of the week-old Lyft-Didi global alliance.
"India is a top global priority for Uber along with China," Uber said in its statement. It is trialling the carpooling idea in Bangalore "to gain insights from commuter adoption and usage."
The service will be launched "very soon."
On a local level, the news comes a few weeks after Meru - an established Indian taxi firm - launched a carpooling brand of its own. At the time, Meru's CEO told Forbes India that the carpooling market in India could be worth $15 billion per annum.
On a global scale, the Lyft-Didi global alliance remains front-of-mind, with attention turning to which market or brand will be next to join the partnership. Reports are already saying that Didi is involved in the funding talks for Ola, another big taxi business in India.
If Didi is looking to bring Ola into the Lyft alliance and synch up all three partner apps, that would be the beginnings of a truly global alliance, based on a mobile tech platform.
Uber has remained quiet about the implications of Didi/Lyft in terms of its US and China business, never mind India. The decision to bring UberPool into India is a sign that, if anything, its resolve to prioritse India has been strengthened.