Truck Drivers Daughters, lady dhaba Owner and lady transport personality steal the hearts at the biggest celebration of Indian transport..

Over 15000 eyeballs were glued to the stage and computer & mobile screens as they witnessed the final ceremony of the 4^th Edition of Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards. As the entire travel ecosystem appreciated a bunch that outperformed, Hotel Ashok in Delhi reverbed with claps and overflowed with stories of inspiration. 25^th of February, 2015 was historic, as we recognized and awarded various stakeholders in the trucking industry on parameters that form our own foundation: Outperformance, Excellence, Innovation and Change Leadership. All of this under the philosophy of inclusion; has truly set high standards. But what was even more inspiring was how women lead the awards table leaving a stamp of class and courage in an otherwise male dominated space.

When Ms Ravinder Kaul came up on stage to receive the Lady Dhabha Owner award, the guests at the event stood up and gave her a warm hearted standing ovation. With this they saluted her exemplary contribution towards the Truck Drivers on NH-2 by extending state-of-the-art food and rest care facilities. When the truck drivers’ daughter donned the hat of performers and played the Mahindra Rise anthem, one could see the pride on their father’s faces. It was evident that their parents’ dream of seeing their daughters get the respect & acknowledgment in an audience base so elite, came true. When the brave heart – Ms. Hema Prava Devi, an LPG transporter hailing from the North East bagged the most coveted ‘Lady Transport Personality of the year’ Award, the room boomed with applause, which overpowered the salute of respect that each man sitting in that room gave the lady.

The measure of popularity and the equity of the awards can be quantified by the entries received. Over 2300 entries made our elite panel’s job even more difficult as poetries of excellence in the form of case studies made then do stringent rounds of discussions and deliberations. Out of these entries 36 winners made a mark on the Awards night.

The event started with a very engaging panel discussion featuring Mr. Sanjay Bandopadhayaya, Joint Secretary, Govt.of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as the moderator with a very erudite panel. The panellists included Mr. Jasjit Sethi, CEO, TCI Supply Chain Solutions, Prof G. Raghuram, Dean of Faculty, IIM Ahmedabad, Mr. V. L. Patankar, Director, IAHE, Dr. Manoj Singh, Advisor, Niti Ayog, Sourabh Rohilla, Deputy Director, SIAM and Mr. Gaurav Karnik, Partner, Tax & Regulatory Services, Ernst & Young LLP. As they spoke about topics – Is India Ready for Global Road Transport Practices and Role of Road Transport in Multimodal Transport Solutions, the hall buzzed with appreciation and discussions alike. The intended 60 minutes went on to 100 minutes, as questions poured in, sparking thoughts and debates.

Mr. Nalin Mehta, CEO, MTBD spoke to the audience and reaffirmed our commitment to continue, strengthen and make the MTEA more relevant. Mr. Bharat Rajamani, Director & Solution Champion - Marketing & Advertising Risk Services, provided the Ernst & Young certification for fairness and transparency, assuring the candidates of the prudent nature of the awards.

Mr. Anand Mahindra, our Chairman and Managing Director, spoke about business with humane touch points that the recent RISE initiatives are reaching out to. He expressed his pleasure on the Truck driver girl child education under Saarthi Abiyaan. While reporting that 1000 scholarships were given in the current financial year, Mr. Mahindra announced that another 1000 scholarships for truck drivers’ daughters will be given away next year. Hon. Road Transport & Highways Minister – Shri. Nitin J Gadkari, who presided over this event, echoed Mr. Mahindra’s views & appreciated the Mahindra CSR initiative for Driver Girl Child Education and Driver Training cum Health care efforts. He then went on to elaborate the ambitions plans of his ministry, from faster Highway constructions to modernisation of RTO procedures.

Another highlight was the Safety Awards on the behest of MoRTH, Govt. of India. The award, rightly instituted for the promoting safe driving and safe transportation across various terrains and climate was introduced this year. Mr. Rajan Wadhera, CE - Truck, Power Train Division & Head-MRV was felicitated with the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, an award that helps us thank the doyens of the transport space.

The glorious night was filled with motivation, admiration and stories of outperformance, reminding us of one thing; that the path we set out on, is leading us to our ultimate goal. To Rise...