Mumbai: The Auto Sector of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is the proud recipient of the prestigious National Award for R&D 2003 for efforts in the Mechanical Engineering Industries. Presented by the Department of Science and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, the award is in recognition of M&M's pioneering R&D efforts which culminated in the indigenously engineered and highly successful vehicle, the Scorpio. Incidentally, Mahindra & Mahindra is only the second auto company in India to have received this award. The award was recently presented to Mr Subbarao, Vice President, Research & Development, Auto Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., by the Honourable Minister of State for Science & Technology, Shri Bachi Singh Rawat.

"The Scorpio has received numerous accolades and awards in the past one year but we are extremely proud and delighted to receive this particular recognition from the Government of India. The National Award is an endorsement of our efforts at creating a truly world-class vehicle on an indigenous platform. The Scorpio is the result of extensive R&D, right from concept to commercial production, a truly 'Made in India' car. My congratulations to each and every member of the R&D team," said Mr Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, M&M.

The National awards for R&D efforts in industry take into account various aspects of industrial R&D such as financial inputs, scientific and technological advancement, role of in-house R&D in scale-up and commercialisation, adaptation and absorption of imported technology and energy conservation and pollution control measures. The Scorpio scored highly on all counts, a notable achievement, considering the procedure followed for evaluation is a rigorous one.

The Department of Science & Industrial Research (DSIR), constitutes six high-level screening- cum-technical evaluation committees, comprising of experts / specialists drawn from the CISR and ICAR systems, Defence R&D, universities, IITs, SIROs approved by DSIR, in-house R&D centres, consultancy organizations, co-operative research organizations, financial institutions and Government Departments. These committees are responsible for scrutinizing applications in detail and short-listing them.

A Selection-Committee-cum-Jury, comprising of 12 eminent scientists from all over India with the Secretary, DSIR, presiding as Chairman, then considers the assessment made by the screening-cum-technical evaluation committees and ultimately selects the winners of the DSIR National Awards each year. This year, the Selection-Committee-cum-Jury has selected a total of eight companies for the DSIR National awards, 2003 in various categories, ranging from Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Industries and Biotech Industries to Computer Software and Electronic / Opto Electronic Industries.

Intended to encourage the efforts of industry towards innovative research and technological development, The National Awards for R&D efforts in Industry were instituted in 1987 by the Department of Science & Industrial Research (DSIR). These awards are in the form of silver shields and are presented along with citations at the inaugural session of the annual National Conference of in-house R&D in Industry every year. Till 2002, 131 companies have won the DISR National R&D Awards for outstanding In-house R&D achievements.

Scorpio, the new generation vehicle from the M&M stable, was launched nationally at the Nashik plant in 2002 and then rolled out in the major markets of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune & Chennai. Although indigenously developed, the Scorpio is truly a world-class vehicle and aptly bridges the gap between style & adventure, luxury & ruggedness, performance & economy. The Scorpio, during the last one year, has been the proud recipient of three prestigious National awards - the "Car of the Year" Award from Business Standard Motoring, the "Best SUV of the Year" by BBC on Wheels and the "Best Car of the Year" award, again, from BBC on Wheels. It also won the Business Standard Brand Derby for the Product Launch of the year. Leading automobile magazines and auto analysts across India have rated the Scorpio very highly on all its features like style, power, performance, technology, driving comfort, interiors and value for money price.