February 19 2016, 21.02 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
• 9 city colleges qualify to the BAJA 2016 finale out of 15 entries from Madhya Pradesh
• A total of 155 colleges will compete for the title in the finale at BAJA SAEINDIA 2016
• 11 colleges participate in the second edition of e-BAJA
Indore, February 18, 2016: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. promoted BAJA SAEINDIA, a professional Society of Automotive Engineers, today flagged off the finale of the ninth edition of the much awaited BAJA series. The grand finale of e-BAJA will take place on February 20, 2016 and the conventional BAJA will be held on February 21, 2016 at NATRIP facility at Pithampur near Indore. About 155 teams out of the 395 entries for BAJA will battle for the title. It will be followed by HR meet on February 22 & 23, 2016.
Mahindra BAJA SAEINDIA 2016 has received an overwhelming response with representation from all zones- Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern zones in India. For the last four BAJA series, the colleges from Indore have seen maximum participation from Madhya Pradesh. This year also 9 colleges from Indore will represent the state in the grand finale.
The theme for BAJA this year is “Passion to Podium” which symbolizes the ultimate spirit and enthusiasm within the students to showcase their talent to achieve podium level finishes. Since, the next level of excellence in Indian Automotive Industry will come through passion driven initiatives, the BAJA SAEINDIA podium is an opportunity for many to stand in front of the world and prove their mettle. Last year, the students strived towards “Beyond the Boundaries” across all levels of BAJA SAEINDIA. This year, a total of 4000 students from all zones- Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern zones in India will mark the ninth edition of BAJA series in Indore.
While the conventional BAJA SAEINDIA series continues to provide an opportunity for young, enthusiastic and talented engineering students, to showcase their passion for automobiles by encouraging them to conceive, design and fabricate 4-wheeled single-seater all-terrain vehicles; the new series of e-BAJA will provide a platform to leverage the onset of Electric Mobility in India. They will be propelled by an electric motor powered by rechargeable Lithium Ion battery packs.
The special workshops conducted by Mahindra Reva for the participants have not only provided them with new and exciting insights into the world of Electric Vehicles, but has also helped them gain the necessary know-how on developing an electric vehicle.
The qualifying teams were selected through a thorough analysis and evaluation during the Virtual BAJA held at Chitkara University Chandigarh in July 2015.
The panelists for the 9th edition of BAJA SAEINDIA would be eminent personalities from the industry, who have played an important role in shortlisting the final entries from every region.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Mahindra & Mahindra is delighted to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA 2016 as the title sponsor. Through BAJA, I am very glad to see thousands of young minds living the Rise philosophy we live at Mahindra every day. Creating ideas by challenge the existing conventions and thinking alternatively to make those ideas a reality is also the spirit of BAJA. And together with BAJA SAEINDIA, we hope to make it stronger and bigger.”
Dr. Aravind S. Bharadwaj, President, SAEINDIA said, “Creation of industry ready skilled engineers is a prerequisite to achieve the targets that have been set forth in the Automotive Mission Plan 2016 for India. BAJA is one such initiative from SAEINDIA that provides an opportunity for students to get hands on learning experience in vehicle design. The rapid increase in the number of teams from SAEINDIA clubs in colleges across the country and the unparalleled enthusiasm of everyone involved with this event is a clear evidence that BAJA SAEINDIA is making progress in the right direction”.
Dr Sudhir Gupte, Convener BAJA SAEINDIA said, “BAJA SAEINDIA is a platform that offers students a chance to showcase their talent and skills in presence of auto experts in addition to presenting them with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the industry of which they aspire to be a part. Amongst the thrill and adventure, we assess the abilities of participants by testing them on parameters such as leadership skills and theoretical and practical knowledge.”
On a conclusive note he added, “Indore is a hub of industry and young talent. Its proximity to infrastructure such as the NATRIP facility makes it the ideal venue for hosting an event of this nature. The enthusiasm of the city is palpable simply from its response. Indore has shown the highest participation closely following cities such as Pune and Chennai. I am confident that like every year, this year too will showcase the most promising talent in the country.”
BAJA SAEINDIA is currently active on social networking website Facebook, and has grabbed the interest of numerous individuals. Since fan base is an integral part of any event, the 9th edition of the BAJA SAEINDIA has received more than 82,000 likes.
Through this initiative, Mahindra and SAEINDIA are providing students, an innovative, hands-on and out-of-classroom education, and a platform to prove their capability in designing a car, within the challenges faced by the auto industry.
The other sponsors include ARAI, Altair, Anand Automotives, Ansys, AVL, Briggs & Stratton, Chitkara University, LNCT, Lear, PTC, General Motors, Volvo India, Bharat Petroleum, Cummins, Polaris, iCAT, NATRIP, Endurance, Varroc, VJ productions, Wurth, Xitadel, Delphi, John Deere, L & T, ITW Chemin, Medanta Hospital, Bosch, Continental (Emitec), Eleation, IAC, Mentor Graphics, Padmini Engineering, Radisson Hotel etc. with support from SIAM and ACMA.
Schedule 2016
Date mBAJA eBAJA
February 17, 2016 Registration, Go Green Event & Technical Inspection Registration, Technical Inspection & Judges Meet
February 18, 2016 Inauguration, Technical Inspection, Press Meet & Judges Meet Inauguration, & Static Events
February 19, 2016 Static Events Dynamic Events
February 20, 2016 Dynamic Events Endurance Run
February 21, 2016 Endurance Run & Valedictory Function Valedictory Function
February 22 & 23, 2016 HR Meet HR Meet
About e-BAJA
eBAJA is an event initiated by SC & OC of BAJA SAEINDIA which engages more than 1000 engineering students every year. To leverage the onset of electric mobility in India we had started this event under the convenorship of Mr. Subodh Morye in 2014, This is a platform where engineering students get to build an electric vehicle on the same dynamics of BAJA rulebook and experience the wonder that this vehicle does with electric power. During a session with, His Excellency Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, he suggested the organizing committee to utilize this platform for national prosperity. Overwhelmed by his thoughts the organizing committee decided to include a new event to its 8th season – named eBAJA. As the conventional BAJA is all about petrol driven ATVs, eBAJA vehicles will run on electric power using electric motor powered by rechargeable Lithium Ion battery packs.
eBAJA an electric powered ATV design competition, lays emphasis on “Electrical Mobility”. Through this event we intent young minds of our nation get an opportunity to experiment and explore the electric science of mobility which is to be the future.
About SAEINDIA
SAEINDIA is a professional engineering society of automotive engineers with a vision to continuously enrich the knowledge base of practitioners in the mobility industry and institutions in the service of humanity. It is an affiliate of the 105 year old SAE International based in U.S.A. SAEINDIA has 5000 regular members and 50,000 student members. For more details on SAE Activities, please visit www.sae.org and www.saeindia.org
