MEN OF DISCIPLINE

Ex-army vehicle drivers are bringing discipline to the Indian transportation scene.

- Deepti Thore

The driver to truck ratio in India is an estimated 750 to 1000. Scarcity of truck drivers is no secret. Of the estimated 20 lakh truck drivers in the country, a large number of them have risen from the ranks of spotters and cleaners. They are thus products of weak economic strata with little education to boast of. Lacking in education, they are unable to command the respect they deserve. They also lack the discipline that is needed to survive and rise in their field. Capturing these very aspects surrounding truck drivers, Sanjeev Chandra, Promoter and Director, MaxPlus Logistics Ltd., took up the challenge to rope-in ex-army vehicle drivers – pilots and controllers. Their disciplined and motivated nature, he calculated, would make them good truck drivers. He began recruiting ex-army drivers after their retirement at the age of 35. By then, these would have gathered a work experience of 15 to 20 years in a highly disciplined environment.