Around 70 driver training institutes will be set up to provide training to around 20,000 candidates annually.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), today said it will train 20,000 drivers annually in partnership with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) for operating heavy commercial vehicles. 

ASTRU along with its member bodies will set up new as well as upgrade existing ‘Driver Training Institutes’ (DTIs) across India to train drivers for heavy commercial vehicles. ASTRU will also facilitate the member SRTUs ­to set up 70 Driver Training Institutes across the country.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today between NSDC and ASRTU, the training would be imparted under the Special Projects category of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY),  and will benefit unemployed youth and employees of member of SRTUs by skilling and upskilling them. 

While exchanging the MoUs with ASRTU, Mr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “We see a huge demand of trained professional drivers who are also skilled enough to operate modern day technologies like GPS. The drivers should be having relevant soft skills. Through this MoU, we aim to train drivers for heavy commercial vehicles thereby bridging the existing gap of requirement for the trained professionals in the sector.”

“Considering the growing rate of commercial vehicles population, there is an urgent need of both skilled drivers as well as the mechanical staff in addition to the existing strength. We are pleased to collaborate with NSDC to overcome the shortage of skilled manpower in the sector and creating new avenues of employment for them. With this agreement, we aim to train around 20, 000 candidates annually,” said P Anand Rao, ED - ASRTU.

According to estimates, there is a 22 per cent shortage of drivers in the country today and it is going up with every passing month. Logistics companies estimate a requirement of a million truck drivers every year and shortage is likely to hit 50% by 2020.