SAEINDIA convened industry executives and academic leaders to mark 20 years of the BAJA SAEINDIA student engineering competition. The platform, where undergraduate engineering students design, build, and test off-road vehicles, has expanded its technical scope to align with broader automotive industry transitions.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chair of the BAJA Steering Committee and Chairman of IN-SPACe, highlighted the evolution of the competition's focus over two decades.
"The original dream of building a rugged off-road vehicle has grown with the transformation of mobility itself, expanding to embrace combustion technologies, electric powertrains, autonomous systems and hydrogen-based mobility," Goenka said. He added that the competition serves as a launchpad as India moves toward its Viksit Bharat 2047 economic targets.
The event brought together long-standing industry partners, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, which has served as a sponsor and fuel supplier since the competition's inception, and JK Tyre. Key administrative participants included representatives from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) facility in Pithampur, Indore, where testing events are hosted.
As part of its digital expansion, SAEINDIA unveiled the BAJA Club Portal during the event to streamline engagement across participants, alumni, and corporate sponsors.