The Delhi Government has started the training of women for obtaining Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV) licenses at its Drivers Training Institute at Burari.

These women, after completing training, will be equipped to drive Delhi government buses under its public transportation fleet.

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The training for the first batch of 38 female candidates was inaugurated by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot at Society for Driving Training Institute (SDTI), Burari, Delhi. 

The program is a part of a larger initiative of the Transport Department, Govt of NCT of Delhi to induct Women Drivers to drive DTC/Cluster buses in Delhi to promote women’s safety in public transport. 

The initiative also aims to give employment opportunities to women in Delhi, the capital city of India. 

Commissioner of Transport, MD Delhi transport corporation (DTC), MD DIMTS and senior officials of Ashok Leyland were also present during the event. 

The initiative is being implemented as a joint venture between Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ashok Leyland Limited to facilitate an end to end training for 180 women candidates and to facilitate their obtaining the driving license of the HMV category. 

Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) under its CSR support has signed an MOU with the Society for Driving Training Institute (SDTI) to implement this program. 

The women drivers will be imparted competency training including skill tests by experts in the said institute, which includes both classroom training and bus driving. 

The women drivers will also be provided additional training on basic computer knowledge. The duration of training will be 30 days towards competence to drive the bus including a skill test. The training will be imparted to eligible female candidates in 05 batches.

The Transport Department in collaboration with DIMTS has been implementing an initiative called Mission Parivartan – Empowering women by creating Women HMV Drivers, to link Women with Skill Development Programs and create job opportunities.

Mission Parivartan and Women Driven Public Transport services is to create respect and open huge doors of opportunity and self-employment for women in Delhi.

The objective of the program is to create a pool of Trained Women HMV Drivers in Delhi and to create respect and open huge doors of Opportunity and self-employment for women in Delhi.

SDTI Burari had already mobilized 100 plus women and Learner’s license was issued to 40 plus women for this program so that the first batch of the training program can start immediately.

The women selected for the program already have LMV licenses and aspire to take Heavy Vehicle driving as their profession.

Women shortlisted for the program were mobilized, keeping in mind to uplift their standard of living and create better job opportunities for them.

Under this programme, the trainees will also receive training on vehicle mechanisms and repairs, medium and heavy-duty driving, traffic education, public relations and people skills, and training on fire hazards first aid and vehicle maintenance.  

During the event, Gahlot interacted with the women drivers and encouraged them to motivate generations of women drivers to come. 

The women drivers shared their experiences, their aspirations from the programme and their enthusiasm to drive Delhi’s buses.