Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for personal transportation today announced a first of its kind partnership with The Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) under the Ministry of Defence to extend an opportunity for Ex-servicemen to turn entrepreneurs with Ola. This association marks the beginning of what could potentially be one of the largest public-private partnerships between the state and a corporate, focused on transition from military to civilian life.
This initiative would involve Ola investing in the re-skilling of such interested candidates, helping them embrace technology and empower them to grow as skilled micro-entrepreneurs on the Ola platform. Ola Sainik will also over a phased manner, make available larger benefits like training, education and insurance for the family members of Ex-servicemen on the Ola app. The first batch of ‘Sainiks’ are expected to join the Ola platform in the coming week.
In order to maintain a youthful profile of the armed forces, approximately 60,000 service personnel are retired/released every year at a comparatively young age. Majority of the service personnel, at the time of retirement are at an age where they have numerous unfinished domestic responsibilities, which necessitate their taking up a second occupation.
‘Ola Sainik’ aims to bring a significant change in the lives and careers of these Ex-servicemen by bringing them on-board as entrepreneurs on its platform. Like tens of thousands of driver-entrepreneurs on its app, Ola will help them with training, technology and a consistent revenue opportunity by giving access to the millions of customers on its platform. As one of India’s fastest growing companies, Ola is committed to this mission of mobility for a billion people by enabling micro-entrepreneurship from within the country.
Yugantar Saikia, Senior Vice President, Ola said, “We salute the Ex-servicemen for their contribution to our country. Ola Sainik will allow them to work with pride and flexibility as entrepreneurs on the Ola platform. As members of the armed forces in the past, they undoubtedly constitute high quality talent in terms of skill and discipline. A stable income, an opportunity to grow and serve the nation like always, makes this initiative a win-win. We at Ola are honored to have hundreds of thousands of our country’s heroes coming on-board with us in the time ahead.”
Col. Vipin Patpatia, Joint Director, Directorate General of Resettlement, MoD, speaking on this association said, “We are excited to associate with Ola on this initiative. We think this is a wonderful opportunity for retired and released servicemen to establish their civil life. Ola has changed the course of mobility and transportation in the country and impacted lives of hundreds of thousands of drivers. By getting Ex-servicemen on board through the Ola Sainik program, they are allowing top-notch talent available amongst us to serve the nation again. We believe this will go a long way in improving the lives and careers of those who have dedicated their lives to the security of the nation. We sincerely hope that this initial opportunity of employment as drivers will open many more promising opportunities of employment in management of back-end operations and other entrepreneurship ventures for them.”
Ex-servicemen bring along with them, years of disciplined life, well-rounded personalities and tremendous service orientation by virtue of training and rigor in their tenure with the armed forces. On retirement or release, mostly between the age of 37 to 45, their second innings into civic life and employment becomes uncertain.
The Directorate General Resettlement, which is part of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, helps ex-servicemen re-orient their skills and aptitude for a second career post-retirement/release.
About Ola:
Founded in Jan 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola (formerly Olacabs), is India’s most popular mobile app for personal transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfillment.
Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 100+ cities can book from over 250,000 vehicles, including cabs, auto-rickshaws and Kaali-Peeli taxis in Mumbai. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. Ola recently acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator, which continues to operate as an independent brand. Please visit www.olacabs.com for more information.
About the Directorate General Resettlement:
The Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) is an Inter Service organization functioning directly under the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (Ministry of Defence). DGR assists Ex-Servicemen to train and acquire additional skills and facilitate their resettlement through a second career. DGR is committed towards generating opportunities and nurturing dreams for re-employment and entrepreneurship. For more information, please visit www.dgrindia.com.