The State cabinet on Thursday approved the establishment of a Regional Driving Training Centre for women in Bidadi of Ramanagara district.
The Transport Department is planning to set up the regional driving training centre at an estimated cost of ₹10.50 crore in collaboration with the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE), Bengaluru. Out of the ₹10.50 crores, around ₹5 crore will be invested from the State government and the rest of the amount will be from the union government.
During the 15th Finance Commission, the union government was asked to submit a proposal regarding Institute of Driving Training & Research, Regional Driving Centre and Driving Training Centre.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ramalinga Reddy, Minister of Transport, said, “In order to encourage women into the field of driving, steps have been taken to start a separate driving training centre for women at Bidadi. Women who are interested in driving heavy vehicles will be given training and license. A stipend will also be provided during training. The training centre will start within a year.”
“In terms of road safety and accident control there is a need to train drivers and improve the quality of drivers and for this it is important to establish and maintain well-equipped driving training centers,” he added.