A total of 282 teams had registered for 13th edition BAJA SAEINDIA 2020, out of which 253 teams qualified for the finale. Only 37 teams could make it to the Endurance round. This year over 5000 students and faculty from different parts of the country celebrated the BAJA SAEINDIA theme ‘Breaking Conventions’.

Professor Dileep Malkhede, Advisor, AICTE and Professor Dr. Sagar Maji, Director DITE (Delhi Institute of Tool Engineering) were the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively. The four-hour endurance race was flagged off by Professor Dileep Malkhede. The 2 km race track consisted of muddy pits, cliffs and slopes between 15 to 20 feet height. The event presented the participants' tough challenges, which made the students push their limits.

The event started with basic static evaluation round of evaluation which comprised of design, cost evaluation and marketing presentation. In the final round, the teams showcased their prototype and were evaluated on parameters like engineering design, cost and technology innovation. The basic objective of the competition was to simulate real-world engineering design and their related challenges. Every team had an objective of creating a safe, fun to drive, easy to maintain vehicle prototype.

The only restriction to the design teams that the speed limit of the prototype should be 60 kmph. The dynamic evaluation round tested the vehicles for acceleration, sledge pull, suspension and traction. Durability evaluation round saw vehicles undergo endurance test for four hours to assess the vehicle ability to operate continuously in a rough terrain containing obstacles in any weather condition.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor Dileep Malkhede, Advisor, AICTE said, “BAJA is a transformative process which revolutionised the technical education in the country. Students got opportunity to explore their potential through demonstration of their engineering skills. BAJA is a mission and could become possible through efforts of passionate people. This is a process of making people successful. It has also generated competent manpower for automotive industry. AICTE is happy to financially sponsor Indian teams for participating in International BAJA. In past 2 years, every team that we sponsored has demonstrated the ability of Indian mind to conquer the world.”

Sharing her experiences as the host institute, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, said, “We encourage hands-on learning at the campus. BAJA SAEINDIA 2020 provides a rich learning experience to not only participating students but also other students of the host institute. It provides a platform for young engineering talent to showcase their skills and acquire a real-life experience while overcoming obstacle and challenges. It was a great opportunity for our students on the campus to interact with students across the country participating in the event. We had a mini India experience at the campus."