INDIA-FORMULA STUDENT
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES ON SUNDAY KOLKATA 9 JANUARY 2011 HE shortest distance be- tween two points is usu- ally a straight line. Now, try taking the Formula One route instead. In an attempt to raise the en- thusiasm for automobile engineering among bright young minds, that’s exactly what corporate giants like Airbus and Shell have been doing for some time now. And now it’s India’s turn to jump on the bandwagon. Formula Student (FS), Europe’s biggest educational motorsport event, uses the cult following motorsport has among the youth to inspire and develop enterprising and innovative young engi- neers. A partnership between industry and motorsport professionals like Ross Brawn, Team Principal , Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, Formula Student has been testing the skills of bud- ding engineers at the legendary Silver- stone circuit since 1998. With the syner- gy of engineering talent from nearly 130 countries and major companies in the automobile sector, it’s the perfect soft launch for bright young minds. Cut to India. The India chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is now organising the SupraSAE India in July, which presents undergrad and post- grad engineering students the task of de- signing, modeling and fabricating a For- mula One type racing car. The concept behind SupraSAE India 2011, the same as that behind the For- mula Student competition, is that a fic- tional manufacturing company has con- tacted a design team to develop a small Formula style race car. It provides the students with a real-life exercise in design and manufacture and the business ele- ments of automotive engineering. It teaches them all about team work, work- ing under pressure and keeping to tight timescales, apart from the design chal- lenges. I V Rao, head of the SAE North In- dia section and managing executive offi- cer engineering, Maruti, said: "This is the first time such an event is happening in India and in keeping with Maruti's close association with motorsport, it is spon- soring the engine and transmission of all the participating cars. With Indian students participating in for- eign competitions like FS, 70 to 80 per- cent of their funds go into transporation and import of parts. We wanted such an event to happen in India itself for them to be able to give their best shot." Teams from India’s premier engineer- ing institutes have been testing their met- tle at the UK chapter of the Formula Stu- dent competition for some time now. The Delhi Technological University (formerly Delhi College of Engineering) which be- gan the trend of participating in Formula Student in 2005 was soon followed by IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, Thapar University, among others. The IIT Kharagpur Team, the only Indian team that was shortlisted for the Airbus Teamwork award last year, is pulling out all the stops for the forth- coming FS competition in July. "We have imported a brand new Honda CBR 600 cc engine and are the only Indian team to use a new engine. The institute has given us a 9.5 lakh grant but transporting tne car will cost around 15 lakhs,”Siddartha Khastgir, the team principal of the IIT Kharagpur team, says. Puneet Singhal, the manager of the IIT Delhi team, the only Indian team to score points in the dynamic section of the event (Formula Student is divided into the design or static section and the dynamic), empha- sised that the lack of interest by corporates put them at a huge disadvantage. With companies like BMW and Mercedes spon- soring European teams and the need to im- port suspension parts and tyres for the In- dian teams, the experience of designing the car is that much tougher for them. More- over, Indian participants are usually un- dergraduates taking out time from their hectic academic schedules and are up against European PhD and M Tech stu- dents who include the competition as part of their research activity. However, despite the odds Indian stu- dents have been slowly and surely mak- ing strides. The DTU Formula Student Car developed last year stood out for its low weight of 205 kg, achieved through the use of carbon fibre body and other chassis innovations. And there’s no denying the leg up original research and design has received from the experience. Professor Naresh Bhatnagar, IIT Delhi’s faculty advisor for the project, said," The most important part is the learning process. Students from all branches come together in this effort and it provides a platform to work as a team. They are en- couraged to take advantage of current re- search and take related courses like those on composite materials to combine learn- ing with their passion for cars." The last word as usual belongs to the missionary zeal of the students. Students at IIT Delhi have put together 3.5 lakhs from their pocket even as they hunt for sponsors. Vishnu Dusad, chief executive officer of Nucleus Software and a 1980 IIT alumunus who backed the IIT Delhi team with nearly Rs 50 lakhs for two con- secutive years, said, "The original design happening in the country is very limited. We threw our weight behind this initia- tive so that original thinking gets institu- tionalised." As India gets ready host to the Formu- la One Race later this year, watch out for these budding F1 enthusiasts! [email protected] T Formula Studies As India gets its own Formula One Student event this year, it is turning out to be an unlikely R&D success story. Pallavi Singh traces the Indian students’ quest for the perfect F1 car WANTED: A fresh approach to advertising MEN AND THE MACHINES: Clockwise from top: IIT Delhi team’s car at the 2009 Formula Student competition; The chassis of the IIT Delhi car for FS 2011; The IIT Kharagpur Formula Student with the Institute’ s Director Damodar Acharya (seated to the right of the car)
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INDIAN Formula student teams.
Transcript of INDIA-FORMULA STUDENT
CMYK
THE ECONOMIC TIMES ON SUNDAY �� KOLKATA 9 JANUARY 2011
9PEOPLE
REVIVAL PLANS FOR THE ROYAL CALCUTTA TURF CLUB ARE IN FULL SWING
The 160-year old Royal Calcutta Turf Club is in re-vival mode, with plans of a bigger derby, nightraces and a heritage club. In an interview withAnuradha Himatsingka, MD, Eveready Indus-tries India Deepak Khaitan, a member, says he ishoping for exciting times ahead. Khaitan’s flashychestnut Hall Of Glory is running for pride at Sun-day’s Calcutta Derby. Excerpts from the interview
Where do you see RCTC headed towards inthe near future?I am very upbeat about Bengal and aboutRCTC. In three years we will see the TurfClub becoming a premier club in the countryand regain its past glory. Today, it is already amajor centre of interest. So much so that theCalcutta Derby is offering a total prize moneyof ̀ 1.07 crore, the highest offered for a racehere this season. The winner will receive`62.68 lakh and a trophy of ̀ 1 lakh.
What initiatives are being taken to make ita premier club?We are in talks with the defense department
for renewal of the lease for the 153 acresrace course which houses the club. Some fi-nancial restructuring, additional incomefrom its Russell Street property, which is be-ing converted into a heritage club incollaboration with upcountry real estatemajor Emaar MGF Land has infused a freshlease of life into the club. The club intendsto use the proceeds to renovate the heritagebuilding within the premises. Part of thework has already begun. We improvedtraining facilities, refurbished the galleriesas well as the existing stables and increasedthe number of stables from 370 four yearsago to 770 now.
Any other initiative to make it thecountry’s best club?Since the lease is up for renewal, we haverequested defense authorities to allow nightracing. If that happens, there would beevening racing with live television coverageshortly. The move will also transform the racecourse into a major social gathering spot. In
foreign countries, race courses offerrestaurants and bar as well as various outletsfor various social activities. These race coursesare actually part of social lives in countries likeHongKong Singapore, the UK as well as theUSA. We are also contemplating setting uprestaurants within the premises for all. Locatednear the Victoria Memorial, race course withits wonderful surroundings and serene atmos-phere, I feel, is the best place to spend the after-noon instead of window shopping at a mall.
Do you plan to introduce horse betting ?Of course, betting would also be introducedsoon four outstation betting terminals
having received the state governmentapproval for the same. These are outletsoutside the city where terminals project vari-ous races and individuals can place their betand win prize money. Other metros likeMumbai, Chennai, Bangalore andHyderabad already has betting centres acrossthe country. There would be no onlinebetting.
How long have you been associated withhorse racing and RCTC?I have been coming here since I was 19, thatwas sometime in 1974. But I becamepassionate about it only in 1985. I ownedRomantic Dancer at the time. Today, I haveone of the best colt, Dandy Fied. My fatherled in his first winner as early as 1949 and Itasted my first success on the turf in 1984.My family has enjoyed a long associationwith RCTC. I remember when ElusivePimpernel ran in the Invitation Cup of 1995,people flocked from far and wide to get aglimpse of this wonder horse.
In three years we will see the Royal Calcutta Turf Club regainingits past glory DEEPAK KHAITANMD, EVEREADY INDUSTRIES AND MEMBER RCTC
‘The Calcutta derby circuit is all ready to get, set and gallop’
AFTER TAKING THE baton of the chief creativeofficer at J Walter Thomson last autumn, therehas never been a dull moment for Adrian Miller,who’s been working non-stop on rebrandingAirtel. Now that the brand is getting established,his new year focus will be getting Pepsi its icon-ic status in advertising back. “I’ve been hearingnot-so-pleasant things about the Pepsi ad cam-paign since a long time. So I will now step inwith full focus to rebuild its creative,” he says.
So what changes does he envision in JWT In-dia? “Well, I am trying to get a sense of balanceat JWT India between the creative and servic-ing. Here the culture isn’t built on the creativeproduct,” says the candid Miller, who’s takingbaby steps to make the agency that is reputed tobe more inclined towards the servicing side,well poised. “There has to be enough team workand the clients need to be involved in the wholeprocess, like here in the case of Airtel, we havean open plan service that gives us enough cre-ative freedom to get the best work out.” Aboutother brands, he observes, “Next year, Pepsi willbe the brand to focus on.”
When enquired about the new-fangled Air-tel logo that received mixed responses from allquarters, Miller categorically denies any role-
play in it. “Whether it’s liked or despised is notour concern as the agency was not involved inthe design process,” says Miller. London-baseddesign agency Brand Union designed the logofor reportedly a lump sum amount.
Talking of his key role in JWT India, WPP’sthird largest agency in the world, Miller who isknown for turning around the working systemin his previous stint as executive creative direc-tor at Saatchi & Saatchi, Malaysia has his planswell chalked out. “The Indian work culture isunstructured, we need to get a structure in placeand get an open system to work ferociously.There has to be a balance towards both the cre-ative and clients,” says Miller.
Miller still feels there is lack of creative tal-ent in the country. “Creativity hasn’t been ex-plored on the visual side as all advertisementslook the same with too much talking. Visual-ly these films are not appealing,” he says .
The Indian creative professionals should bein sync with the world’s best advertisingtrends, and connect with the audiencethrough blogs and social networking sites, ob-serves Miller, who received an incredible re-sponse Airtel ad - ‘Endless Goodbye from allsections of society, especially youth.
Despite Indian advertising shining in thecountless advertising festivals, winning inter-national acclaim in the past years, the fact re-mains Indian creativity still is nowhere close toBrazilian, South African or Danish advertising.So how long will it take for us to get closer tothese creatively brilliant countries? “If youcompare their best award winning ads to thebest ones here, which is definitely better,” saysMiller who justifies saying, “There are pro-ac-tive ads being made in India among all theSouth-East Asian counterparts with big moneypumped in by companies, yet India is betterthan its South Asian counterparts”. Miller toogears up to pick the best work of his agency forthe Goa AdFest in March. “The most deservingwill fill in the entries this year,” says Miller.
With big money there is huge opportunity toexperiment with creativity but certain clientsbelieve in calling the shots, and that is wherecreativity falters. The need of the moment is forthe clients to be brave, Miller emphasises.
As Miller prepares to tour many cities forAirtel campaigns, he says “Everyday is a newchallenge and that’s what keeps me ticking.”
Monica [email protected]
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HE shortest distance be-tween two points is usu-ally a straight line. Now,try taking the FormulaOne route instead. In anattempt to raise the en-thusiasm for automobile
engineering among bright young minds,that’s exactly what corporate giants likeAirbus and Shell have been doing forsome time now. And now it’s India’s turnto jump on the bandwagon.
Formula Student (FS), Europe’sbiggest educational motorsport event,uses the cult following motorsport hasamong the youth to inspire and developenterprising and innovative young engi-neers. A partnership between industryand motorsport professionals like RossBrawn, Team Principal , Mercedes GPPetronas Formula One Team, FormulaStudent has been testing the skills of bud-ding engineers at the legendary Silver-stone circuit since 1998. With the syner-gy of engineering talent from nearly 130countries and major companies in theautomobile sector, it’s the perfect softlaunch for bright young minds.
Cut to India. The India chapter of theSociety of Automotive Engineers (SAE)is now organising the SupraSAE India inJuly, which presents undergrad and post-grad engineering students the task of de-signing, modeling and fabricating a For-mula One type racing car.
The concept behind SupraSAE India2011, the same as that behind the For-mula Student competition, is that a fic-tional manufacturing company has con-tacted a design team to develop a smallFormula style race car. It provides thestudents with a real-life exercise in designand manufacture and the business ele-ments of automotive engineering. Itteaches them all about team work, work-ing under pressure and keeping to tighttimescales, apart from the design chal-lenges. I V Rao, head of the SAE North In-dia section and managing executive offi-cer engineering, Maruti, said: "This is thefirst time such an event is happening inIndia and in keeping with Maruti's closeassociation with motorsport, it is spon-soring the engine and transmission of allthe participating cars.
With Indian students participating in for-eign competitions like FS, 70 to 80 per-cent of their funds go into transporationand import of parts. We wanted such anevent to happen in India itself for them tobe able to give their best shot."
Teams from India’s premier engineer-ing institutes have been testing their met-tle at the UK chapter of the Formula Stu-dent competition for some time now. TheDelhi Technological University (formerlyDelhi College of Engineering) which be-gan the trend of participating in FormulaStudent in 2005 was soon followed by IITDelhi, IIT Kharagpur, Thapar University,among others. The IIT Kharagpur Team,the only Indian team that was shortlistedfor the Airbus Teamwork award last year,is pulling out all the stops for the forth-coming FS competition in July. "We haveimported a brand new Honda CBR 600 ccengine and are the only Indian team touse a new engine. The institute has givenus a 9.5 lakh grant but transporting tnecar will cost around 15 lakhs,”SiddarthaKhastgir, the team principal of the IITKharagpur team, says.
Puneet Singhal, the manager of the IITDelhi team, the only Indian team to scorepoints in the dynamic section of the event(Formula Student is divided into the designor static section and the dynamic), empha-sised that the lack of interest by corporatesput them at a huge disadvantage. Withcompanies like BMW and Mercedes spon-soring European teams and the need to im-port suspension parts and tyres for the In-dian teams, the experience of designing thecar is that much tougher for them. More-over, Indian participants are usually un-dergraduates taking out time from theirhectic academic schedules and are upagainst European PhD and M Tech stu-dents who include the competition as partof their research activity.
However, despite the odds Indian stu-dents have been slowly and surely mak-ing strides. The DTU Formula StudentCar developed last year stood out for itslow weight of 205 kg, achieved throughthe use of carbon fibre body and otherchassis innovations. And there’s nodenying the leg up original research anddesign has received from the experience.
Professor Naresh Bhatnagar, IIT Delhi’sfaculty advisor for the project, said," Themost important part is the learningprocess. Students from all branches cometogether in this effort and it provides aplatform to work as a team. They are en-couraged to take advantage of current re-search and take related courses like thoseon composite materials to combine learn-ing with their passion for cars."
The last word as usual belongs to themissionary zeal of the students. Studentsat IIT Delhi have put together 3.5 lakhsfrom their pocket even as they hunt forsponsors. Vishnu Dusad, chief executiveofficer of Nucleus Software and a 1980IIT alumunus who backed the IIT Delhiteam with nearly Rs 50 lakhs for two con-secutive years, said, "The original designhappening in the country is very limited.We threw our weight behind this initia-tive so that original thinking gets institu-tionalised."
As India gets ready host to the Formu-la One Race later this year, watch out forthese budding F1 enthusiasts!
T
Formula StudiesAs India gets its own Formula OneStudent event this year, it is turning outto be an unlikely R&D success story. Pallavi Singh traces the Indian students’quest for the perfect F1 car
WANTED: A fresh approach to advertising
MEN AND THE MACHINES: Clockwise from top: IIT Delhi team’s car at the 2009 Formula Student competition; The chassis of the IIT Delhi car forFS 2011; The IIT Kharagpur Formula Student with the Institute’ s Director Damodar Acharya (seated to the right of the car)
Creativity in India hasn’t beenfully explored on the visual sideas all ads look the same withtoo much talkingADRIAN MILLERCHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, JWT
The man behind the topical Airtel rebranding on how to change the concept of product marketing in India
FACES IN FOCUS
AS Pakistan reels under the impact of the assassination of thePunjab Governor Salman Taseer, one man has come to representthe turmoil in the nation. Twenty-six year old Malik MumtazHussain Qadri, the member of the late Governor’s special securi-ty guard, fired nine bullets at close range at Taseer on Tuesday.Qadri has denied he was under any outside influence and said hekilled Taseer for his opposition to Pakistan’s controversial blas-phemy law. As Qadri was being led to court, 400 lawyers clam-oured with each other to represent him. Moreover, a section of re-ligious clerics have hailed him as a ‘Ghazi’ or holy warrior . Ac-cording to reports in the Pakistani media, the Joint InvestigationTeam (JIT) has found him mentally fit and there are chances hewas instigated to commit the murder. Sources said Qadri’s relationwith an extremist organisation based in Kohat has been traced.
AS NO ONE KILLED JESSICA hits the marquees this Friday, theJessica Lall case is back in news. And so are Rani Mukherjee andVidya Balan. While Vidya Balan has carved a niche for herself inthe sexy thinking aunty roles post Ishqiya and Paa, Mukherjeewould be thanking her lucky stars for this movie. After all, even ahot makeover in her last outing Dil Bole Hadippa couldn’t resur-rect her by now dead career. Mukherjee, after a long time, hadsome promos to attend and something to talk about besides herforever-impending nuptials with the Yash Raj Films scion AdityaChopra. The movie where Balan is cast as slain model Jessica’s sis-ter Sabrina who carried on a relentless fight for justice andMukherjee as the feisty journalist is getting rave reviews, as wasexpected. The duo is seen in all red carpets make huge fashiongaffes (which they are famous for), in chat shows or even sharinga mock kiss at a media event—all for publicity. The movie was inthe news right from the making and its not just because of its con-troversial topic. NOKJ came under fire with the Censor Boardover the fact that Mukherjee’s character uses foul language. It wasclaimed that the real life Sabrina Lall would also make an appear-ance which she later denied. Hopefully director Raj Kumar Guptawill be second time lucky after his first Aamir opened to a good re-sponse. At least Mukherjee is keeping her fingers crossed.
IT SEEMS to be a textbook case of partners in crime. San-jay Gupta,the chief financial officer of Hero Corporate Ser-vices Ltd (HCSL), arrested Monday for his alleged con-nivance in defrauding Citibank customers, including hisown company, of an estimated Rs.300 crore. According topolice, Gupta was in the know of the massive fraud perpe-trated by Sanjay Puri , Citibank's relationship manager.Police said that the fraud was "done in his (Gupta's)knowledge". Puri is accused of siphoning Rs 4 billion byselling financial products that were not authorised by thebank. He is believed to have transferred the funds to hispersonal accounts.It is also believed that Sanjay Gupta hasbeen running many small financial firms which havenothing to do with the Hero Group. Gupta is believed tohave also cashed in commissions worth Rs 15 crore. How-ever, Gupta's counsel C L Kakkar pleaded before the Courtthat he is not the accused, but is a victim, and he could turna witness if required.
Hero executive secondlink in Citibank fraud
Rani Mukherjee and VidyaBalan are girls unplugged
Punjab Governor’s killerkeeps Pakistan on edge
