In a bid to meet burgeoning demand for certified and trained drivers of commercial vehicles in the automotive, construction and logistics sectors, the government of India is firming up plans to develop a new generation of skilled, trained drivers.  

An agreement has been signed between the road transport and the skill development ministries to set up 100 driver training institutes across the country. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) will allocate Rs 1 crore as the grant component for each of the 100 driver training institutes.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will also allocate a budget as a stipend to trainees to compensate the wage loss during the training period. The stipend will be limited to Rs 15,000 per trainee for the entire duration of the course. The stipend will be transferred to the accounts of the trainees on Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer basis.

The pact was signed in the presence of Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in New Delhi on Friday. "We will set up 100 driver training institutes to skill drivers and make them ready for huge opportunity," said Rudy, as per a PTI report.  

The partnership entails training youth for various skills like driving heavy commercial vehicles and in different trades connected to the highways sector. The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship through the National Skills Development Corporation will also train highway construction workers, technicians, supervisors, and operators to make them industry ready. It will also upgrade the skills and certify existing workers in the road and highways construction sector.