Mumbai, April 4, 2016: Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) in partnership with Priyadarshini Taxi Service today felicitated 10 Mumbai-based women for successfully completing their professional driving training course.
Maharashtra State, Transport Commissioner, Shri Shyam Wardhane (IAS) gave away the certificates to the beneficiaries. Mrs. Susieben Shah, Founder, Priyadarshini Taxi Service, Mr. Ashish Mathur, AGM, Maruti Suzuki India and various other dignitaries were present at the occasion.
These 10 women who are economically less privileged were trained in professional driving under ‘Unnati’, a pan-India initiative of Maruti Suzuki. Through Unnati the Company aims to impart safe driving skills, encourage driving as a profession and add to the professional workforce of India.
Under the Unnati initiative Maruti Suzuki plans to train over 3000 people, country wide over the next one year.
On the occasion Mr. Mahesh Rajoria, AVP Maruti Suzuki said, “Unnati initiative is very close to our hearts. With an objective to impart driving skills, the initiative encourages beneficiaries to take up driving as a profession and earn their livelihood and live with dignity and respect. We are happy to partner with Priyadarshini Taxi Service for this initiative in Mumbai. These women here are the brand ambassadors of Unnati and their success stories will be motivating for others.”
The first batch has been taken in as full-time employees by Priyadarshini Taxi Service, whose aim is to provide women drivers on call and create a safe environment for people to travel within the city – for women, by women.
Maruti Suzuki commenced Unnati in Mumbai in November 2015. In the initial phase four batches of 10 each have enrolled for the three month course. The programme includes behavioural aspects with training in softer skills, customer relations, time management, etiquettes, financial management etc. The course is designed keeping in mind the candidate’s background.
Unnati is part of Maruti Suzuki’s Driving Training, an initiative under CSR. Under CSR, MSIL has trained 14,000 people in this FY 2015-16, around 25% of which were women.
The company has invested around Rs. 30 cr towards road safety and driving training in the FY 2015-16. Maruti Suzuki has set up a network of 364 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) and 6 Institutes of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) across the country.
Unnati project is also being successfully conducted in Bengaluru Delhi/Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Jaipur.
