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As part of 'Stand-Up India' scheme, aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, transportation app Ola today unveiled the erickshaw category on its platform that will enable the users to book rides on their electric vehicle in Delhi-NCR region – this initiative was launched today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ola has about 80,000 auto-rickshaws and 3.5 lakh cabs on its platform. Estimates suggest there are 5 million rickshaw pedallers in the country. This is a scheme to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and women with loans in the range of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 100 lakh, official sources said here. The function was attended by FM Arun Jaitley, and Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, among others, and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. Here is all you wanted to know about the combined initiative: (PTI)
1. This Standup India scheme is expected to benefit large number of entrepreneurs, as it is intended to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch of scheduled commercial banks on an average, one for each category of entrepreneur. The scheme will also facilitate refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs 10,000 crore. The overall intent of the proposal is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these under-served sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans in the non-farm sector, sources said. (PTI) 
2. "A total of 5,100 Ola erickshaws, in partnership with Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC), will be deployed across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. This will be further scaled up in the coming months to more small towns and Tier III cities," Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka said. "Citizens in these cities and towns currently suffer from lack of convenient and reliable mobility options, especially for short distances. Erickshaws are an affordable and greener alternative in these cities that can serve mobility needs unique to these small towns and cities in India," he added. (PTI) -
3. Ola will charge a 10 per cent commission from the rickshaw pedallers. It will, however, not charge any convenience fee from users as is the case with auto-rickshaws. While the fare will differ city to city, users will have to pay Rs 25 for two km and Rs 8 per km for the following distance. They can pay cash or using Ola Money, the company's wallet service. "We will soon launch ride sharing options, which will bring down the cost," he said without disclosing a timeline. With over 60 per cent of the India's population residing in small towns, Ola aims to strengthen mobility in these towns with the e-rickshaw initiative, he added. (PTI)
4. Apart from financial support for procuring e-rickshaws, Ola and BMC will also set up and run skill development centres in these towns to enable continuous skilling and training for thousands of rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs. (PTI) -
5. Besides, digital payments company FreeCharge has also come on board as a partner. It will enable customers to connect and pay via chat with e-Rickshaw drivers as part of its chat-n-pay service. "The drivers can register as a merchant at zero investment, on the Chat-n-Pay platform by simply adding their banking details. For consumers and drivers, Chat-n-Pay will help eliminate the hassle of managing and arranging change and will further offer convenience to pay on-the-go in a seamless and secure manner," Govind Rajan, Chief Operating Officer, FreeCharge said. (PTI)
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