Mahindra & Mahindra, the leader in the utility vehicle and tractor markets in India, today awarded the winners of the fourth K. C. Mahindra Award for Excellence in Automotive Design 2006. Instituted in 2003, to foster creativity and innovation in automotive design among budding automotive designers and engineers, the award focused on the “Rural Transport Solution” theme this year. Mr.Shamit Srivastav from the Center for Product Design & Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore was the first runner-up winning a cash prize of Rs 50,000 while, Ms Divya Sharma, Mr. Vaibhav Anand, Mr. Abhishek Singh and Mr Vijay Kshatriya, all representing the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad shared the spot for the second runner-up respectively, winning a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

Mr. Shamit Srivastav created an out of box concept combining feature of a Utility Vehicle with tractor operational requirement while the NID team created concepts covering storage and seating options. The first prize was not awarded to any contestant as no entry could qualify for the position.

Expressing enthusiasm on the talent demonstrated, Dr. Pawan Goenka, President – Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “The growing response to the K. C. Mahindra Award for Excellence in Automotive Design signifies the interest and conviction students have bestowed upon us. We have been successful in providing a platform that encourages open-ended thinking among students and it is heartening to notice that the entries demonstrate various innovative and new-age aspects of vehicle designing. This augurs well for the Indian automotive industry that is on strong growth path. At the end, everybody is a winner in this talent hunt and all of them have a bright future ahead of them.”

Dr. Arun Jaura, Senior Vice President - Product Development, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, "Given the challenging assignment, the contenders for the K. C. Mahindra Award this year have really outdone each other in several key areas. Having seen the talent, we are confident that nurturing and grooming these young minds will help bring out some of the best contemporary solutions for transportation needs of the Indian customers. I am very excited with the quality of talent available in India and wish these individuals all the very best in achieving their dreams."

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