Ola, Uber in skill development pact with Rajasthan govt

Taxi aggregators Ola and Uber have signed agreements with the Rajasthan government for skill development and creation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the state. Under the partnership, Ola will team up with the state government to provide skill development for 50,000 men and women over the next five years, it said in a statement. It also spoke of introducing offerings like Ola Autos and Ola Share in the state in coming months.

Uber, on its part, will also collaborate on skills training and development programmes in the desert state and create over 35,000 entrepreneurial opportunities. Additionally, the US-based firm will work with the government to roll out a pilot for its peer-to-peer ridesharing product, Uber said. "Our vision is to use technology to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youth of Rajasthan...

This initiative will help further expand the ecosystem and make more choice of mobility to the citizens at large," Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said. Innovation and technology have to go hand in hand for making Rajasthan the most developed, front-runner state in the country, she added. In early 2014, Ola had launched services in Rajasthan and operates in its five major cities -- Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer and Jodhpur.

"By bringing more mobility use cases onto its app using technology, Ola is looking to serve the 75 million people in the state, giving them instant access to reliable and convenient personal transportation of their choice," Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka said. The Bengaluru-based taxi hailing service has a similar tie-up in place with the Andhra Pradesh government and has committed an investment of Rs 150 crore to be made over the next three years. Last week, Uber had inked an agreement with the Punjab government for running a pilot for peer-to-peer ridesharing.

Currently, Uber only has drivers with commercial licences on board in India. In the US, a major chunk of the rides is peer-to-peer that allows private car owners to register on the Uber app and ferry passengers. "Uber is thrilled to collaborate with the Rajasthan government and contribute to the economic development of the state through skills training and creation of tens of thousands of flexible and sustainable entrepreneurial opportunities," its Head of Operations and General Manager North India Gagan Bhatia said.