Why are Maharashtra’s auto-rickshaw, taxi drivers being issued notices for lacking Marathi language skills? | Explained
The Maharashtra Transport Department has launched an enforcement drive requiring auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to demonstrate functional knowledge of the Marathi language. Drivers who fail a conversational assessment are given a one-month grace period to learn the language, or face a three-month license suspension.
Why it matters
This policy highlights the intersection of regional linguistic identity and public service regulation, impacting the livelihoods of thousands of transport workers in Maharashtra.
On August 20, 2026, the Maharashtra Transport Department began an enforcement drive issuing notices to those auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, who failed to prove the functional knowledge of Marathi language — now a mandatory requirement to drive the passenger vehicles in the State. The enforcement drive will continue till September 30, and so far around 2,500 such notices has been issued.
Since August 20, around 13,000 drivers have been tested in Mumbai and other parts of the State, as per the Transport Department. The drivers who fail in conversational assessment test then receive one-month notice to learn Marathi. “If they fail to comply with one-month notice, then their licence will be suspended for three months,” Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik stated.
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