ISSUE 3, 2013 ISSUE 3, 2013 WHAT’S INSIDE? Mahindra Partners: Bright Prospects Ahead Excitement-packed AQ Grand Finale 2013 Mahindra Tractors' Mega Customer Meet in Zaheerabad Tech Mahindra & Juniper Networks: Strategic Alliance New MUSCO Stampings Plant Mahindra Everyday 1 ISSUE 3, 2013 CONTENTS QUALITY COVER STORY 05 FOCUS 46 A peek into the glamour, speed and As ever there was a sustained focus on drama of the World Motorcycle Racing Quality with awards, in-depth training Championships and the Mahindra and quality assessments being part of Racing team’s performance therein. this focus. PEOPLE SECTOR BRIEFS 15 INITIATIVES 48 A round-up of what the past quarter Innovative people-building initiatives held for the Mahindra Group's diverse were held across the Mahindra Group sectors – new products, awards, – workshops, people interactions and conferences and collaborations. much more. CORPORATE AWARDS FOR SOCIAL EXCELLENCE 39 RESPONSIBILITY 51 A brief round-up of companies and The Mahindra team located around the individuals across the Group which won country and across the globe, reached national and international kudos for out to the less fortunate through a exceptional achievement. series of caring initiatives. Please write in to [email protected] to give feedback on this issue. ME TEAM Associate Editors: Zarina Hodiwalla, Darius Lam Automotive Division Amit Agarwal Information Technology Bonita Fernandes Ritesh Gaind Vrinda Pisharody Rajeev Malik After-Market Defence Systems Preeti Nair Geethu Menon Sanjit Tiwari Pavithra Kamdadai Tushar Dharkar KVN Prasad Sustainability Mayank Maini Venecia Paulose Poonam Bagwe Pooja Thawrani Systech Corporate Social Responsibility Anita Beri Swapnil Soudagar Gilroy Correia Farm Division Mahindra Partners Sharmila Subramanian Rujuta Nadkarni Ritu Yadav Nitin Pandey Infrastructure & Realty Edited and Published by Roma Balwani Phiruzi Kasad Rishika Mehrotra for Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Gateway Two Wheeler Subrata Sengupta Building, Apollo Bunder, Mumbai 400 001. Stella Rozario Anurag Vijay Editorial and Design Consultants: Corporate Communication Services Financial Services Hospitality Charandeep Chawla Sarita Srikanth For employees of the Mahindra Group and for Sheetal Choksey private external circulation only, through the Mahindra Group. 2 ISSUE 3, 2013 EDITORIAL Team Mahindra Racing's effort and hard work has begun to pay off with the team putting up a strong performance during the 2013 season. This includes a historic podium finish at the recent Malaysian race and qualifying on pole at the Netherlands race earlier this year. Remarkably, the new MGP30 racing bike is doing so well that other teams are now lining up to buy it from Mahindra Racing. Dear Readers, Mahindra aspires to be among the most admired global brands within the next decade and one of the key elements of this strategy is our participation in the World Motorcycle Racing Championship (MotoGP) with Team Mahindra Racing. The cover story in this issue of ME takes a closer look at the team, its origins, objectives, growing pains and the development of its new racing bike. All the effort and hard work has begun to pay off with the team putting up a strong performance during the 2013 season. This includes a historic podium finish at the recent Malaysian race and qualifying on pole at the Netherlands race earlier this year. Remarkably, the new MGP30 racing bike is doing so well that other teams are now lining up to buy it from Mahindra Racing. Our Special Feature is an interview with Zhooben Bhiwandiwala and Parag Shah of Mahindra Partners, in which they discuss the company’s investing philosophy, overall structure, major businesses and future growth plans. The company is particularly excited about leading the charge into alternate energy with its Cleantech venture that is developing solar energy projects across the country. The Trend Watch column focuses on the evolution underway in the automotive finance business, particularly with the advent of new technology. This is helping financiers deliver solutions that meet the needs of increasingly demanding customers. The current slowdown notwithstanding, the industry looks to have a bright future ahead. We also have a series of stories from International Operations about how Mahindra is expanding or consolidating its global presence in the Automotive and Farm Equipment sectors. The Group is already present in over 100 countries around the world and this number only looks set to grow in the future. The Mahindra Group has received numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious ‘Champion of Champions’ trophy at the recent Association of Business Communicators of India (ABCI) awards, while Mahindra Finance bagged ‘Asia’s Most Promising Brand’ award presented by the World Consulting and Research Corporation at the Asian Brand and Leadership Summit in Dubai recently. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and look forward to your comments and feedback. Regards, 3 ISSUE 3, 2013 STOP PRESS Mahindra Racing Creates History at Malaysian Grand Prix ahindra Racing, the only Indian manufacturer in International Grand Prix Motorcycle racing, Mcreated history at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, when rider Miguel Oliviera finished 3rd on the podium, among 32 riders in the Moto3TM World Championship. Starting from the 4th position on the grid, Oliviera finished just 0.408 seconds behind the winner. He also set the Circuit lap record, his third this year after the Mugello and Assen rounds. The result is a historic landmark for Indian motor sport history, as a motorcycle developed by an Indian company has finished on the podium at the World Championship. The Mahindra MGP30, which is still in its first year of development, was designed and built in record time over the winter. It has threatened top machines ever since its debut. Arthur Sissis Joins Mahindra Racing Team Australian Arthur Sissis (18), will join the Mahindra Racing team from the 2014 season, in place of Efren Vasquez. He has competed in the Moto3 category from the 2012 season and was earlier part of the Red Bull Rookies series. “I’m really happy to join Mahindra – it’s a very good team and it’s great to be riding for an Indian manufacturer,” says Sissis. Mahindra Group Wins 10 ABCI Awards, Bags 3rd Consecutive ‘Champion of Champions’ Trophy he Mahindra Group won 10 awards at the 53nd Roma Balwani, Chief Group TAssociation of Business Communicators of India Communications Officer, receiving the (ABCI) Annual Awards Night, on October 18, 2013, in ‘Champion of Champions’ Trophy from Chief Guest, Dileep Padgaonkar, former Mumbai. Editor, The Times of India. The ABCI is India's largest non-profit organization for business communications professionals. It is the only association of its kind in India to promote excellence in business communications and has nearly 1,000 members. The Awards night was preceded by ‘Comfest’, a convention that brought together the finest minds in the communications business on a shared platform to discuss key communication insights. The team from Mahindra Members of the Group The team from TechM receives awards for Brochure Design and Logistics receives the Corporate Communications team receive the Corporate Film. Film award. Ezine award. Naresh Patil from the Darius Lam receives Group Sustainability Subrata Sengupta of Mahindra Zarina Hodiwalla receives the award for Web Office receives the The team from Mahindra World City Pvt. Ltd. receives the award for Table Communication - Online award for Environment Finance receives the award the award for Prestige Calender on behalf of on behalf of the Auto Communications. for Corporate Website. Publications. Mahindra Lifespaces. Sector – Bolero 4 ISSUE 3, 2013 COVER STORY Mahindra Racing dramatically improved its performance during the 2013 season, with its MGP30 racer in the leading pack at most races, including this one at Catalunya in Spain. he World Motorcycle Racing Championship instantly evokes images of glamour, speed and drama where modern day gladiators riding high tech machines 150 million households. It’s a platform where the best Tbattle it out on the best racing circuits in the world. motorcycle manufacturers in the world compete.” It is in this intensely competitive world of MotoGP that The strategic objectives of Mahindra Racing are two-fold; Mahindra Racing recently made Indian motorsport history to showcase Brand Mahindra and the Mahindra Group’s by claiming its first ever podium finish. technology capabilities on a global platform and to develop Portuguese rider, Miguel Oliveira claimed third place high-end two wheeler technology that would eventually be at the Malaysian Grand Prix in October, riding the new incorporated into Mahindra Two Wheelers’ future product and still under development Mahindra MGP30 racer. This line-up. momentous achievement marked a high point in the short yet eventful journey of Mahindra Racing, which is India’s Steep Learning Curve first and only motorcycle constructor competing at the During the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Mahindra Racing highest level of international motorcycle racing. went through a steep learning curve. Choonia explains, “It The team began competing in the FIM MotoGP World was the first time in not just our Group’s history but also in Motorcycle Racing Championship from the 2011 season. our nation’s history that an Indian company had attempted The racing project in our Group had, however, been formally to do something like this.” launched the previous year at the annual Blue Chip