India, Aug. 27 -- Amid the ongoing row over Maharashtra's Marathi language requirement for autorickshaw and taxi drivers, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday distributed certificates to drivers who had completed a Marathi language proficiency course.

Addressing a gathering of autorickshaw drivers in Borivali, Shinde said the drivers had learnt Marathi out of respect for the state's primary language and stressed that only a working knowledge of Marathi was needed for day-to-day conversations.

The development comes as the language requirement faces a legal challenge in the Bombay High Court, with four app-based cab drivers seeking to quash the state government's August 12 notification and stay its implementation.

Shinde said...