This is thinly disguised marketing, spinning a huge negative for Uber in India into a positive.

The situation in India is that Ola (Indian Uber clone) is by far and away the leader. The cool thing about Ola is that you can pay by cash. Indians prefer cash and dislike credit cards, and so Ola rode that desire to huge success (http://fortune.com/2015/09/16/india-ola-unicorn-funding/), while Uber held tight to their cashless utopia, receding away in Ola's rear view mirror.

This then is nothing more than Uber finally admitting that their pristine model was wrong for India. So instead of a mea culpa, they turn it into a fantasy design trip and journey.

I do admire the chutzpah though. Hustle hustle hustle.