Mahindra BAJA SAE 13th Edition – Report

The 13th Edition of Mahindra BAJA SAEIndia 2020 was successfully concluded in Indore.

The 13th edition saw a total of 282 teams registering for BAJA SAEINDIA series, out of which 253 (120 mBAJA and 53 eBAJA for Pithampur and 80 for Chitkara University) teams qualified for the finale. Total 86 teams (76 teams for mBAJA and 10 for eBAJA) made it to the Endurance round.

After reaching Indore, we were guided to our hotel where we were briefed about the next day’s event which also included the list of do’s and don’ts. The members from the organising committee were also present with whom we got a chance to interact and know more about BAJA SAEINDIA. The next morning we left for the race which was being held at NATRiP’s NATRAX facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.

The endurance event was flagged off by Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. & Chairman, Steering Committee – BAJA SAEINDIA, Dr. Bala Bharadvaj, President, SAEINDIA, Guest of Honour Ms. Gul Panag, Mr. Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager, BPCL & Mr. Atul Bharat from host institute, Acropolis Institute of Technology & Research, 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.

The track designed this year was based on the tagline “Breaking Convention”. The track included obstacles like mud-pits, rock crawlers, uphill, downhill, etc. This event tests a student’s capabilities to build a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle. A vehicle which does not pass through the technical inspection, cannot take part in the race.

Team E-Ziba Racers from Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, Andhra Pradesh won the eBAJA and Team Predators from DY Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune won the mBAJA title. Team Acrostreak from Acropolis Institute of Technology & Research, Indore bagged the 2nd position in eBAJA and Team Aryans from Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad, Maharashtra stood 2nd and Team SparkX Racing from Silver Oak College of Engineering & Technology, Ahmedabad, Gujarat stood 3rd in mBAJA.

Various other awards to the teams for static events were presented. Team Nemesis Racing from Government College of Engineering, Pune & Team Gyrfalcons from Modern Education Society’s College of Engineering, Pune bagged the Engineering Design Award for mBAJA and eBAJA respectively. Team Ziba Racers from Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women (Autonomous) won the Go-Green Emissions Award. In addition to the total prize amount of Rs. 22.8 lakhs for BAJA SAEINDIA 2020 Pithampur, the students walked away with excitement and a sense of accomplishment for having participated in such a competitive event.