The women taxi driver project was launched on Friday at the international airport and key tourist sites. Officials say the project will also be launched in Mumbai and the southern city of Hyderabad.

High-profile attacks on women prompted the country’s tourism minister to say last year that the Indian male’s attitude towards women was scaring female tourists away from the country.

“We aim to bring women to the forefront of the tourism industry ... and make women travellers feel more comfortable as they tour the city,” Naresh Chandra Joshi, a spokesman for India’s tourism ministry, said on Saturday.