The city of Indore was host to the 10th edition of the Mahindra Baja SAE India. Held at the NATRiP facility in Pithampur, Indore, a total of 118 teams, comprising both mBaja and eBaja, competed in the endurance round. The third edition of eBaja saw 8 teams competing for the title on February 19.
The four day event started with basic static evaluation round which comprised of design evaluation, cost evaluation and marketing presentation. In the final round, the teams showcased their prototype of a single seat, off-road four-wheel vehicle and were evaluated on various parameters, including engineering design, cost and technology innovation. The objective of the competition was to simulate real world engineering design projects and their related challenges.
Each team’s goal was to create a safe, easily transportable and easy maintain prototype without any direct involvement from professional fabricators. However, the teams were free to design their own transmissions with the only restriction being the speed limit to 60 kmph. The dynamic evaluation round tested the vehicles for acceleration, speed, sled pull and manoeuvrability while the durability evaluation round saw the vehicles undergo endurance tests. The endurance event assessed each vehicle’s ability to operate continuously and at a speed over rough terrain containing obstacles in any weather conditions.
About 415 teams had registered in the decade edition of the Mahindra Baja SAE India series, out of which 185 teams qualified for the finale. However, only 118 teams made it to the Endurance round. This year 4000 students from different parts of the country celebrated the Baja SAE India 2017 theme ‘Decade of Dream, Dare & Drive’.
The College of Engineering, from Pune was announced as the winner of the 2017 Baja series in India while Alard College of Engineering, Pune and BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar were declared as the first runners-up and second runners-up respectively.
Singhad College of engineering, Pune was declared as the winner of the Best eBaja Team. This was the third edition of eBaja which aims to provide a platform to leverage the onset of Electric Mobility in India. The event saw participation from 29 colleges. However, only 8 colleges competed in the endurance round.
Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said that 10 years back, they brought something unique like Baja to India. That was the beginning of a wonderful journey. Every year they have worked hard to keep together and challenge themselves and move towards one goal. And today when he sees Baja reaching new heights, he can confidently say, this is their success. Together with the support from sponsors, engineering colleges and the industry, they have completed a decade of dreaming, daring and driving. Baja has given the young engineering talent an opportunity to showcase their skills and it is heartening to see thousands of students coming together to celebrate this spirit. Mahindra & Mahindra is delighted to be associated with Baja SAE India 2017 as the title sponsor and they hope to take forward this event to the next level in the next few years as well.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajendra Shukla, Minister of Industries, Government of Madhya Pradesh said, “I am quite happy to see the excitement at the site which has about 4000 students from 180 engineering college from all over the country bubbling with energy and passion. It is a good platform for the budding engineer to showcase their talent and prove the might of the vehicle developed by them. Such competitions complement the ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives launched by the Prime Minister. I am also happy to see that the Baja track has been benchmarked as one of the best in the world. I congratulate SAE India, NATRiP and the Organizing Committee of Baja SAE India for their dedicated efforts in organizing the event for 10 years successfully.
With the increasing popularity of Mahindra Baja SAE India, next year onwards, two Baja events will be held. While one continues to be in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, the other one will be held at IIT Ropar in Punjab. This move will help cater to 80- 100 more teams who will have the opportunity to participate.
Commenting on this development, SK Das, Director, IIT Ropar said, “An event like Baja contributes to the development of the spirit of Innovation. The mBaja and eBaja event is making young talents, industry, academia come together and flagging off a new spirit of Innovation. I am sure this will set an example for the entire country.”
Following is an image gallery of the 10th edition of the Mahindra Baja SAE India (click to expand):
