Mahindra BAJA SAEINDIA 2017commences its Tenth Edition
- 185 colleges from 415 entries qualify for the finale
- Announces participation of the 1st International team from Dubai
SAEINDIA, a professional Society of Automotive Engineers, today announced the commencement of the tenth edition of the much awaited BAJA series. The finale of the event, with Mahindra as a title sponsor and 40 other industry sponsors, will be held at the NATRIP facility at Pithampur near Indore, from February16th to 21st, 2017.About 415 entries were received for BAJA SAEINDIA 2017, out of which 150 teams were shortlisted for conventional BAJA and35 teams were shortlisted for eBAJA in the Virtual BAJA round.
The 10thedition also marks the milestone of the first International team’s participation. The team from BITS Pilani, Dubai are all set to compete with their Indian counterparts and experience the BAJA SAEINDIA 2017.
BAJA SAEINDIA has also rolled out eBAJA series,to leverage the onset of Electric Mobility in India. The mBAJA vehicles run on 10 HP Briggs and Stratton Gasoline Engine, common for all 150 teams, whereas eBAJA vehicles will run on electricity, propelled by a 11kWelectric motor and powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.
The three day event will include Technical Inspection, Static Evaluation such as Design, Cost & Sales Presentation and Dynamic Events such as Acceleration, Hill Climb / Sled Pull, Suspension & Traction, and Maneuverability. The endurance round of 4 hours for eBAJA will be held on February18th2017 and for mBAJA on February19th,2017.
A remarkable feature unique to BAJA SAEINDIA is the adoption of a new theme every year. The theme for BAJA 2017 is ‘Decade of Dream Dare & Drive’, which celebrates 10 glorious years of BAJA SAEINDIA. 10 years of students Dreaming to do things by applying alternative thinking, daring to turn their Dreams into reality by accepting no limits and Driving a positive change towards a brighter future.
For the BAJA finale, entries from engineering colleges from across the country were screened atthe Virtual Round held at Christ University, Bengaluru in June of 2016, where they presented their Designs for the BAJA Buggy vehicle they wished to design for the final event.
The qualifying teams were selected through a thorough analysis and comparison of their written test, CAD Designs, the CAE analysis and the designs of Roll Cage, Suspension, Steering and Brakes. The entries presented at the virtual BAJA were mock-ups that would be created with exact specifications by the participants. The teams in the final round will showcase their skill, understanding and passion for automobiles while having manufactured their own buggy race car.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said, “Mahindra is delighted to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA 2017 as the title sponsor. With BAJA, we are taking forward the philosophy of Mahindra Rise to the next level. Year on year, there has been an increase in participation from colleges and this is a testimony to BAJA SAEINDIA’s growing popularity and its national significance. We at Mahindra believe the future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams. As we celebrate a Decade of Dreams, I am glad that BAJA SAEINDIA has been a forum that gives young engineering talent the platform to turn those dreams into a reality.”
Mr Ravi Kharul, Convener BAJA SAEINDIA 2017 & Chief Technological Officer, Endurance Technologies said “Mahindra BAJA SAEINDIA has been one of the most magnificent automotive event in the country since the past 10 years. As this great competition completes a decade of its existence, we feel proud at having given the students a unique platform, where theory meets practicality. Like every year, this edition too, has been met with immense energy, with a total of 415 teams registering for the initial virtual round, and the best 185, consisting of 150 mBAJA, 35eBAJA, and one international team, making it to the main event. Keeping BAJA in line with our larger goals of facilitating sustainable mobility across the country, electric BAJA has also garnered great appreciation, witnessing an increase of over 50% in the total participation from last year. The eBAJA teams are also being supported via a subsidy of 2 Lakhs INRby the BAJA SAEINDIA Organizing Committee.”
Dr. K C Vora, Sr. Deputy Director at ARAI& Chairman of SAEINDIA Western Section is the Advisor & Spokesperson of BAJA SAEINDIA further explained that, “BAJA is an out-of-classroom initiative of SAEINDIA and one of the most exciting events for students in Western India. It has become an international event and a brand of its own. Awards worth INR 28 Lakhs would be given to students in various events. From next year, we are planning to conduct two BAJA events, one in Pithampur and another one in the northern part of India. I would like to thank sponsors such as Mahindra and BPCL for extending their support since the past 10 years.”
Dr. N. Karuppaiah, Additional Director & Site Head, NATRAX/NATRIP said “NATRIP is privileged to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA since inception. While our upcoming test tracks of imposing magnitude and variety at NATRAX are going to be the proving ground for the vehicles developed by Indian Automotive Industry, we are glad that BAJA test tracks at NATRAX has become a battleground for the young budding engineers of the country to prove their mettle. The tracks developed for testing BAJA Vehicles at NATRAX has been benchmarked as one of the best BAJA Track world over. A water wading trough with shower facility has also been created to test e-BAJA vehicles.Introduction of e-BAJA is an extremely good initiative which will help shift the vehicle manufacturing approach from conventional Diesel and Petrol to Electrical Vehicles among the young engineers. This will enhance the skillset of these future Automotive Engineers as per the Automotive Mission Plan launched by Government of India.”
About BAJA SAEINDIA
BAJA SAEINDIA is an educational pursuit for the engineering college students, an out-of-classroom-education system, where engineering students from all over India can participate as a team, giving them pragmatic exposure to real world challenges as faced in the industry. Originally started in the USA by the SAE International as Mini BAJA SAE, today it is being organized in several countries. In India, it is being organized as BAJA SAEINDIA. An international student level competition in which teams from universities all over the country, design, analyze, fabricate and validate an all-terrain vehicle. This is evaluated during a series of Static, Dynamic and Durability events like design, cost evaluation, sales presentation, acceleration, maneuverability, hill climb and endurance.
The first edition witnessed participation from 27 teams while for the decade edition there are 414 teams that have registered to be among the 150+ teams that will battle it out on NATRiP’s proving ground for BAJA SAEINDIA. Such a phenomenal growth has been achieved without any marketing or promotional expenditure.
Over the years, BAJA has grown in popularity and has become a bigger event nationally signifying its increasing popularity. It serves as a platform for young engineering talent to showcase their skills and acquire a real life experience while overcoming obstacles and challenges- something that is critical for their long term success. These engineers showcase their passion for automobiles by conceiving, designing and fabricating a 4-wheeled single-seater All-Terrain Vehicle.
Mahindra is playing a prominent role in slating the event since its inception under the able leadership of Dr. Pawan Goenka as the Chairman of the Steering committee of BAJA SAEINDIA. Since last 6 years Mahindra is the title sponsor and proudly continue to remain the same this year too, and others like Bharat Petroleum, Chitkara University, Christ University, Lear, GM, Mathworks, Altair, Anand Automotives, BK Tyres, Cummins, Delphi, Endurance, John Deere, Ansys, NATRiP, AVL, ITW Chemin, Medanta, ARAI, Wurth, iCAT, B&S, Bosch, Continental, IAC, M P Consulting, Padmini Engineering, Polaris, Power Equipments, Radisson Hotels, Eleation, Total Facility Management& Volvo are also proudly continuing their support towards the event. It is also supported by SIAM and ACMA.
About eBAJA
eBAJA is an event initiated by SC and OC of BAJA SAEINDIA which engages more than 1000 engineering students every year. To leverage the onset of electric mobility in India we started this event under the convenorship of Mr. Subodh Morye in 2015. This is a platform where engineering students get an opportunity 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, suggestions were made on utilizing this platform for national prosperity. Overwhelmed by his thoughts the organizing committee decided to include a new sub event to its 8th season — named eBAJA. While the conventional BAJA is about petrol driven ATVs, eBAJA vehicles runs on electric motor powered by rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack.
eBAJA is the concept of electric driven BAJA ATVs to lay emphasis on Electrical Mobility. Fossil fuels take millions of years of solar energy and rare geographical events to get produced and are harmful in nature. Hence, there is a need to move towards sustainable as well as clean technology which can help us achieve energy independence and stabilize human -induced climatic change. Also these fuels are perishable resources of energy, which can cause energy scarcity in future, we need to come up with alternate resources of energy for the development of mobility and have a sustainable growth. Therefore, we believe that electric mobility is the future which will play a significant role in the growth of the nation.
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