India, April 17 -- With the May 1 deadline for testing the Marathi proficiency of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers drawing near, the state transport department is busy putting together a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to guide the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) for the evaluation process.

According to the draft framework, accessed by HT, drivers' conversational skills in Marathi will be tested through reading short passages from a Marathi textbook or booklet; apart from this, they will also be asked to answer several work-related questions, such as fare details and routes. Unions have said they will soon start tutorials to help drivers sharpen their local language skills, even as a sections of unions are threatening legal action aga...