Delhi government to train women to operate taxis, autos

NEW DELHI: Faced with the "felt need" for having women operate cabs and autorickshaws following the Uber rape case here, Delhi government has launched a special initiative for imparting driving lessons to them along with self-defence training.

The initiative, termed 'Rakshita', was kicked off today by District Magistrate (East), Kunal.

"Driving training will be provided through the institute of Driving and Traffic Research so that licences could be issued to them (women) for commercial vehicles," said Kunal.

Also, these women will be given self-defence training while, in the longer run, the government will help them get loans under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme for buying their own vehicles to be operated as cabs.

"The initiative is a step towards addressing the problem of women not feeling safe while commuting at night. Especially after the Uber rape incident, in which a driver allegedly raped a woman passenger, there was a felt need to encourage more and more women to take up commercial driving," added Kunal.