Maruti Suzuki contributes significantly in areas of road safety, skill development, community development and employee engagement programmes as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It was the first company to shoulder the responsibility to promote safe driving and training in India. The manufacturer set up the Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) at Loni in Wazirabad back in 2000, together with Delhi government. After this first initiative, the car manufacturer has established the PPP models in several other states as well. Gathering knowledge from the successful international models of Singapore and Europe, Maruti Suzuki has devised extensive course content and curriculum for driver training.
Amongst other institutes that promote road safety in the country, the company's Loni facility is acknowledged as one of the 'model institutes'. Inspired by the success of IDTR Loni, it started another facility in South Delhi. 1,00,000 underprivileged people were trained for free at the Loni unit, out of the 7,00,000 individuals who have been trained here. Delhi, Haryana, have 2 IDTRs each, while Gujarat and Uttarakhand have 1 each. Many other state governments have appealed to the company to set up a similar establishment in their respective states as well.
In order to teach car driving to middle class citizens residing in cities, the company initiated Maruti Driving Schools (MDSs) in collaboration with its dealers. It delivers high quality driving training through a sustainable business plan via these institutes. Localised simulators, professional management and monitoring made this initiative a success. Aspiring drivers among the underprivileged youth are sponsored by the car maker to increase the scope of MDSs. It recently collaborated with the traffic police of Haryana at Gurgaon, Karnal and Faridabad to set up Road Safety Knowledge Centres (RSKC) in an attempt to expand its PPP model. The centre has been incepted to spread road safety awareness amongst daily commuters, especially the traffic violators.
Maruti is also expanding its initiatives in education and skill development areas too, as it recently adopted 10 state-run Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs). Out of these, one each is located at Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, two at Goa, and four at Haryana. The company plans to transform each of these ITIs into a centre of excellence. It also aims to increase the number of ITIs under its ambit to 50 by 2015. It can assist in establishing a connection between industry practices and ITIs with its technical know-how and expertise. The inputs provided by the company will include setting up a detailed Institute Development Plan to improve the infrastructure of the facility. Maruti will also provide suggestions on upgrading curriculum, improving teaching infrastructure, introducing special life skills in the curriculum and facilitating industry exposure to students through factory visits. A constant pool of trained personnel is at the disposal of the company at these ITIs, which will help it fulfil its service network needs.
Maruti has assumed responsibility of four villages in Manesar as it indulges in the community development services around its plant located in the city. Under one such initiative, the company has overhauled the complete infrastructure of primary and middle schools in the four villages it adopted.
Company employees have started a new trend by volunteering in these initiatives and Maruti hopes to rope in their families and peers as well. This volunteer programme is called e-Parivartan, where 'e' stands for employee. It was launched last year by the manufacturer as part of its CSR initiatives. Through this platform, it intends to engage its employees in community and social work.
