CM Fadnavis Gives 1 Year To Cab, Auto Drivers To Learn Marathi

The BJP-led Mahayuti government on Thursday extended the deadline for taxi and autorickshaw drivers to acquire a working knowledge of Marathi, following a meeting between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a delegation of taxi and autorickshaw drivers. 

The Chief Minister announced the extension of a year. The decision assumes political significance ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for February 2027.

Mr. Fadnavis’s announcement comes days after the Maharashtra transport department warned that drivers who fail to demonstrate a working knowledge of Marathi could face suspension of



their authorisation badges for driving auto-rickshaws and taxis, as part of the department’s drive to make knowledge of Marathi compulsory for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers. 

The move has faced opposition from non-Marathi-speaking drivers and leaders from Uttar Pradesh, including former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. 

Yadav questioned the Maharashtra government’s decision to make a working knowledge of Marathi mandatory for taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers, stating that such a condition could undermine the constitutional right to work and conduct business anywhere in the country.