4 min readFeb 7, 2025 04:12 AM IST
First published on: Feb 7, 2025 at 04:12 AM IST
Noting that a significant number of road accidents occur due to the fault of drivers, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) have issued a new policy to set up driving training institutes across the country. Under the scheme, the ministry will provide an assistance of Rs 4,500 crore in a phased manner to set up 1,600 such institutes in all 36 states and Union territories (UTs).
Officials said that the decision was taken in a two-day meeting with transport ministers and transport secretaries in the first week of January. The new policy provides higher incentives to the developer and changes the population criteria with allocation of higher number of such centres. Currently, there are a total of 28 functional driving training institutes, which have been set up under the MoRTH scheme. Under the scheme, three different types of institutes such as Institute of Driving Training & Research (ITDRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs) and Driving Training Centres (DTCs) will be developed. Out of the total allocation of 1,600 institutes, 26 ITDRs, 134 RDTCs and 1,427 DTCs will be set up.
These centres will provide facilities such as automated driving test tracks, driving laboratories and workshops, driving training simulators, modern equipment such as Innovative Driving Test System (IDTS), among other initiatives, to train drivers. Teaching aids such as TV and DVD, computers and multimedia projectors for handling theory classes on traffic rules will also feature in the classrooms at these centres. The ministry has calculated that there is a lack of 22 lakh skilled drivers in India and in around 35,000 death cases, drivers are found to be driving without a valid license.
According to the revised guidelines of the scheme, the centres will be set up in 3-tier system, where IDTRs will be developed in 10-15 acres with 1 IDTR for 2.5 crore people, RDTCs in three acres with one RDTC for one crore people and DTCs will be constructed in 2 acres with 1 DTC per district and an additional DTC for every 10 lakh people. Earlier, the population criteria for IDTR was 5 crore, 2.5 crore for a RDTC and 20 lakh for DTC. For north-eastern States and UTs, 1 RDTC will be set up in each state irrespective of the population criteria.
As per the guidelines, the Centre will provide capital investment up to Rs. 17.25 crore for an IDTR, Rs 5.5 crore for an RDTC and Rs 2.5 crore for a DTC. While the assistance remains the same for IDTR and RDTC in the new policy, it has increased from Rs 1 crore to 2.5 crore for a DTC. Thereafter, the state will have to implement the scheme on its own. State governments and any other agencies such as state transport undertakings, transport companies or associations, NGOs, private party, etc., can send proposals and these centres will be set up and operated through a partnership between state governments and private developers.
Officials said that the online portal for application and monitoring is going to be set up soon. Currently, a total of 32 proposals are under consideration.
The data available with MoRTH shows that while a total of 31 IDTRs, 14 RDTCs and 41 DTCs have been currently sanctioned to the states, the completion of these centres appears to be very slow.
According to the written reply provided by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, out of a total of 11 RDTCs sanctioned during the last five years, only two have been completed and training commenced.
As per the guidelines, the Centre will provide capital investment up to Rs. 17.25 crore for an IDTR, Rs 5.5 crore for an RDTC and Rs 2.5 crore for a DTC. 
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