Mahindra’s Rise Prize in India.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Mahindra Group head and industrialist mogul Anand Mahindra is trying to kick-start innovative change in India by debuting a “Rise Prize” campaign, which will offer a $1 million (Rs. 6.2 crore) prize to Indian innovators who can come up with solutions to some of the country’s biggest problems.
Mahindra will unveil the Rise Prize on February 28, which is National Science Day in India. First up for would-be innovators to try and solve is the following problems: Mahindra is looking for anyone who can create a self-powered and operated driverless car, and anyone who can create a solar power kit that can be built in a “do-it-yourself” style on their own. The winner of the driverless car challenge will net $700,000 of the $1 million prize money, while the remaining $300,000 will go towards the winner of the solar power kit competition.
In announcing the Rise Prize, Mahindra said, in a statement, “With the Rise Prize, the Mahindra Group wants to provoke big disruptive ideas that can dramatically change lives. We are offering a big incentive for fresh thinking among the new generation of innovators in our country. Our ambition is to propel India into the next orbit of Innovation and develop the nascent innovation ecosystem in India. Essentially we want to catalyze the rise of world-class, world-beating innovations and technology from India.”
Mahindra Group has been forging ahead with new technologies to produce cleaner energy and help fight India’s long battle with air pollution and its growing energy predicament. It has taken several steps over the past few years in its automotive sector to move toward electric and hybrid cars, particularly with its Halo and Verito automobile models.
Additionally, the company is the manufacturer of the world’s first-ever hybrid diesel Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the Mahindra XUV500, and is also behind the electric Reva, which debuted roughly one year ago.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com