2019 BAJA SAE India sees 363 teams from across the country

Mahindra’s 2019 BAJA SAE India at Pithampur saw a total of 251 participants, of which, 120 participated in mBAJA (conventional fuel), 50 in eBAJA (electric vehicles) and another 81 for IIT Ropar edition of eBAJA. 85 teams out of the 120 mBAJA and 22 teams out of the 50 eBAJA teams qualified for the endurance round on the final day. The event was held at ARAI’s NATRAX facility in Pithampur, near Indore.

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 transported, easily maintained and fun to drive 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 60kph. The ‘Dynamic Evaluation Round’ tested the vehicles for acceleration, manoeuvrability, rock crawl and suspension & traction. ‘Durability Evaluation Round’ saw the vehicles undergo endurance tests of two hour for eBAJA and four hours for mBAJA. The endurance event assessed each vehicle’s ability to operate continuously and at a speed over rough terrain containing various obstacles.

With the title sponsorship coming from Mahindra, the event is supported by ARAI, Altair, Anand Automotives, Ansys, AVL, Bharat Petroleum, BKT, Bosch, Briggs & Stratton, Chitkara University, Continental, Compage Automation Systems Pvt Ltd.,  Cummins, Eleation, Faurecia, GM, IAC, iCAT, ITW Chemin, IIT Ropar, IIST,  Lear, L&T, LNCT, Math Works, Medanta Hospital, MP Consulting, MSC Software,MY FM, NATRiP, OYO Rooms, Padmini Engineering, Power Equipment, Trim India Pvt. Ltd., Radisson Hotels, TFM ,Think Creative Solutions,  Varroc and V J Production.

Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “BAJA SAEINDIA has grown from strength-to-strength over the last twelve years and it is no surprise that this year’s edition has been bigger and better than ever before. The success of this unique initiative lies in nurturing our budding engineering talent and equipping them to apply the concepts they learn in the classroom in real world situations. By staying relevant and keeping updated with the changes in the automotive industry, BAJA SAEINDIA has played a distinct and encouraging role in nurturing automotive talent”.

Umesh Shah, senior VP and COO (CVRBU), Gabriel India, convener - BAJA SAEINDIA 2019, Pithampur said, “The BAJA SAEINDIA aims to provide the engineering talent an environment that encourages them not just to learn but also grow through practical hands-on experience. Faced with the unconventional challenges that the BAJA SAEINDIA has come to be known for, students are forced to come up with unconventional solutions which then spurs innovation. It is with this objective that we supported BAJA SAEINDIA all these years so that engineering students can innovate and come up with practical solutions for various issues facing the industry and society.”

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 rugged single seat, off-road recreational four-wheel vehicle and were evaluated on various parameters, including engineering design, CAE, cost and technology innovation.

Institute of Technology, Nirma University from Ahmedabad was declared the ‘Best eBAJA Team’ and Govt. College of Engineering from Pune was declared the ‘Best mBAJA Team’. Various other awards to the teams for static events were presented. MIT, Pune and Shri Vishnu Engineering College of Women from Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh bagged the Engineering Design award for mBAJA and eBAJA respectively.NIT Jamshedpur won the Go Green- Emissions Award. The total prize amount was Rs 32 lakh from BAJA SAEINDIA 2019 Pithampur.