SAE India celebrates 20th anniversary

March 18 was a red-letter day for the apex automotive engineering organization in the country – SAE India.

The day saw a galaxy of the Indian automotive industry’s leaders – past, present and emerging – congregate at Hotel Le Royal Meridien in Guindy Chennai. R Seshasayee, chairman of Infosys, and non-executive vice-chairman of Ashok Leyland, was the chief guest while Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, who has been instrumental in setting up and nurturing SAE India was also present.

In his welcome address, Dr Aravind Bharadwaj, president, SAE India, spoke about the significant events over the past two decades, particularly the new programs and events organised in the past couple of years. These included the recent AWIM National Olympics, IVHM in Aerospace, Orbit Shifting Growth in Off Highway, Blue Ribbon CEO Conclave in every vertical, and the Automotive Round Table in key locations, ITEC INDIA 2015 opening a new chapter in collaboration with IEEE IAS, and as a clinching climax hosting the International Board of Directors of SAE for the first time in India.

This was followed by a panel discussion comprising SAE India’s past presidents on a varied range of industry specific issues including road engineering and traffic management, technology and innovation, and skills development for ready employment and certification programs which will enable easy absorption into the industry. The industry leaders recalled the challenges faced in the formative years, which have been turned into opportunities for growth and development.

The session was moderated by Autocar Professional’s Sumantra B Barooah.

Reminiscing about his association with SAE India, Ashok Seshasayee compared the growth of the automotive industry with the analogy of human evolution over a millennium and how the transformation takes place with driverless connected vehicles like a billion neuron cells in the human body connect the functions and activities with such minute and meticulous precision.

He recalled the International Mobility Conference in 2005 and APAC 16 as part of the Patron Steering Committee in 2011 with Dr Pawan Goenka as chairman. He also extolled the programs like Baja and SUPRA which have captured the imagination and excitement of Indian engineering students and especially AWIM where Ashok Leyland sent engineers as volunteers to educate young children besides generous sponsorship.

He lauded Dr Goenka on the stellar role he has essayed in the growth of Mahindra & Mahindra, commenting that the Mahindra Scorpio was a pathbreaker and trendsetter. He added that Dr Goenka is a truly worthy recipient of the prestigious FISITA Medal of Honour and is the first Indian to receive the coveted award. 

Dr Goenka spoke about his long association with SAE India after being appointed Advisor in 1994, recollecting the association with ARAI and SAE International in 1996 wherein the visiting SAE International president readily agreed to his proposal of giving SAE paper numbers to the publications in SAE India conferences, thereby according them due international recognition. He also complimented the Baja program which, over the past seven years, attracted scores of engineering students from across the country. 

Dr Goenka asked SAE India to focus on professional development programs and introduce certification programs which can help disseminate knowledge. He also suggested that SAE India take the opportunity to organise the FISITA 2018 World Automotive Congress on par with global standards, thereby showcasing India’s capability and competence. He released a brochure on FISITA World Congress 2018 with the theme of ‘Disruptive Technology for Affordable and Sustainable Mobility’.

Meanwhile, a coffee table book – SAE India Growth Story – A Journey for 20 years’ was released by R Seshasayee, after which past presidents of SAE India were given a memento recognizing their contribution to the association.

Other highlights of the event included presentations from Prof. T R Jagadeesan, Mrs Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI, and I V Rao, executive advisor (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India. They were followed by Prashant Balasubramanian from Hinduja Tech and Yogesh Nagendiran from Renault Nissan, both of whom who have been active in SAE India.