With an aim to help women gain confidence and also build a pool of women drivers, The FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), on Monday, announced the programme, Hunar hai toh Kadar hai.
The initiative titled, Women in Transport will provide women from underprivileged backgrounds in the state of Telangana free driving lessons. The skill development programme is a joint initiative from FLO, Road Transport Authority, Maruti Suzuki driving schools and various NGOs.
Announcing the same, Rekha Lahoti, chairperson, FLO said, “We are aiming at at least 150 women between the age group of 18 and 35. They have to be studying in class 10 and their total family income has to below `3 lakh.” Training would include driving lessons, communication skills and etiquette training. They would also be provided with assistance in getting a driving license.
Jyotsna Angara, national committee head-women in transport initiative added, “The objectives of this most sought -after initiative is to empower women with valued skills and provide sustainable opportunities for their socio-economic growth and livelihood.” Women interested in this opportunity can contact 9502900099, 9885078811 040-23395277.
Living healthy
This was followed by an interactive session by Dr D Nageshwar Reddy.
Titled “Love yourself enough to live a healthy Lifestyle”, chairman of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology said that general perceptions like eating carefully, exercising adequately, avoiding smoking and drinking and thinking positively do not determine how long one would live. According to him, it is the genes and the ‘gut microbiome’ that determines one’s longevity.
This, he added, is clearly distinct from living a healthy life. The doctor also pointed out that women live longer than men. “Life expectancy has improved in the recent years not because of the modern medicine but a number of other factors. Cancer can be prevented by checking for genes,” he said. Speaking specifically about Colon Cancer, he shared that screening of colon cancer is huge in the USA. “This has brought down the incidence of colon cancer drastically there. In India it is not possible. In Australia, people are fined 500 dollars if they don’t screen for colon cancer.” He further added that in USA about 80,000 persons die every year due to doctors’ negligence. Here in India, this could be ten times more, he observed.