Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, has been conferred the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by his alma mater, IIT Kanpur at its 48^th convocation ceremony.

He was conferred with this title by the chairman senate, IIT Kanpur in the presence of other dignitaries. The Honorary Degree was conferred on Dr Goenka in recognition of his outstanding contributions to automotive engineering including designing, manufacturing and launching commercially successful vehicles.

Accepting the honour, Dr Goenka said, “It is a privilege and an honour for me to be conferred with the Honorary Doctor of Science by IIT Kanpur. This institute shaped me as a young engineer 40 years ago for which I am forever grateful. I accept this recognition humbly and hope to further the shared vision of building scientific excellence in the country.” 

Dr Goenka has been at the helm of the Mahindra Group’s automotive business since September 2005 and has helped translate the automaker’s global vision into reality.

The soft-spoken, true-blue engineer, a pure R&D person in his own words, Dr Goenka, who was with General Motors in the US, returned to India and joined M&M in 1993, leading the team that built the Scorpio, one of India’s best-known SUV marques.

Since taking over as head of the automotive division, he has closely supervised every Mahindra product launched ever since. In 2010, he engineered the buyout of Reva, a niche Indian electric vehicle maker, with an aim to carve a niche in this technology of the future. And in March 2012, he completed the acquisition of Korean manufacturer SsangYong.

He ardently believes in EVs and in an interview he told Autocar Professional: “We believe that electric vehicles or clean-energy vehicles are the future – not just for India, but for the global automobile industry. And we need to promote that at both the OEM level, and the government level.” Which is why he welcomed the government’s recent FAME India initiative on EVs and hybrids.   

His stamp is across the Mahindra Group, whether it is Mahindra Two Wheelers picking up the majority stake in Peugeot Motocycles or 33% in Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery. He has an abiding passion for the BAJA SAE India competition and this year, Mahindra & Mahindra completed its eighth year as title sponsor of the country’s premier ATV competition for engineering students. Dr Goenka says, “Every year, three to four thousand students participate in BAJA, and get closer to the automotive industry. They get to experience concepts and go beyond classroom learning. Be it designing, fabricating, running, or even teamwork the management ability. All of this helps train engineering students and results in graduates ready for the industry. And, that’s our primary objective.”

Dr Goenka, who is also passionate about building Brand India in the global automotive scheme of things, has been Autocar Professional's Man of the Year twice, in 2011 and in 2006, when we described him as the architect of M&M’s global vision. That vision has unfolded in the years since in several ways.