Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), India's largest passenger vehicle maker, today announced that it will set up Automobile Skill Enhancement Centres (ASECs) across 15 Government run ITIs, across 11 states, in the next three months. These ASECs will be part of the company's skill development initiative under Corporate Social Responsibility.

The first of these ASECs was inaugurated by Mr Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki at ITI Nizamuddin in New Delhi.

Each ASEC will be equipped with a state-of-the-art workshop to provide practical training in automobile service and repair to students. The workshops will be equipped with modern-day service tools and equipment, and latest Maruti Suzuki vehicles. Along with this, the Company will appoint full-time trainers. It will arrange training for the existing ITI teachers on latest technology and equipment. Maruti Suzuki will also organise industrial outreach programmes to upgrade skills of students and make them job-ready.

In all, the Company will spend Rs 60 million in these 15 ASECs, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR). Around 600 students are expected to benefit from these ASECs, annually.

In recent years, the Company has partnered with 110 government ITIs across the country to impart training in automobile service and repair. These partnerships benefit 6000 students annually, almost all of whom are readily employed at various automobile workshops.

In 2015-16, the Company had also started specialised courses for denting and painting under car service and repair. For this special Auto Body Repair (ABR) and Auto Body Paint (ABP) labs were set up at ITIs in PUSA (Delhi), Dhoraji, Rajkot and Tollygunge, Kolkata.

Shares of the company gained Rs 51.3, or 0.73%, to trade at  Rs 7,034.00.  The total volume of shares traded  was  82,024 at the BSE (10.57 a.m., Friday).