UTOO to be 'facilitator' for its cab drivers to buy homes

As part of efforts to foray into the mobile-based taxi aggregator segment with launch of UTOO cabs, serial entrepreneur C Sivasankaran has said the company will facilitate purchase of apartments for its 8,500 drivers.
"UTOO will buy 8,500 dwelling units each measuring 600 square ft and employ 15,000 drivers, of which 8,500 would opt for the company's apartment scheme in the next three years," he told PTI here.
"If an apartment costs Rs 30 lakh, the driver will get a loan under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme for about Rs 22 lakh from lending institutions, while the remaining will be loaned to the driver by UTOO."

The driver will start paying the EMI for the apartments, only from the eighth year onwards when he earns around Rs 60,000 a month.
Sivasankaran expects a UTOO cab driver to become "a crorepati" in 15 years. For the scheme, UTOO has sourced ready to occupy apartments in Perambur, Porur, Poonamallee areas near Chennai.
"We are planning to outsource 1.20 lakh apartments across eight cities, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi-NCR, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bengaluru under the scheme," he added.
"The total amount spent on the scheme will be Rs 28,000 crore, of which Rs 7,000 crore will be invested by UTOO in the next 18 months."

The remaining Rs 21,000 crore will be invested by banks and financial institutions, he said. UTOO will act as a "facilitator" for the drivers to procure apartments, he added.