India's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), declared the winner of its intriguing WagonR think Big Challenge Season 3 in Young Turks category. A student of University Of Rajasthan, Maneesh Kumar Meena was entitled with the title for his revolutionising idea of initiating an online 'Craft Mandi' as well as physical stores to sell hand-crafted articles sourced from regional craftsmen. Other final entries in the event included 'Electronic Writing Pad', which is a compact, battery run and cheaper writing option and the 'Dadi's Veggie Mart', which incorporated the idea to sell vegetables smartly in different areas.
Meena was entitled to a cash prize worth Rs. 1 lacs and will also get the chance to contest in the zonal round of mainline category. In this round he will get to battle against other participants for a chance to win a Wagon R, prize worth Rs. 10 lacs and a venture capital.
More than 5,000 applicants registered for the challenge from different colleges across the country. The car maker registered 160 unique ideas in this season, which were received from the younger crowd. MSIL has been banking on innovation for decades and it has been the company's priority to incorporate new ideas in the regular operations at its workplace. The Young Turks category has been a new addition to the challenge this year that aims at providing the students a chance to learn and witness their ideas being turned into reality.
The new category was introduced this year considering the massive success of the challenge and participation of a whooping volume of college students during the last two seasons. Out of the 5,000 entries and 160 unique ideas registered, the company selected four semi-finalists from different cities to compete in the zonal rounds of North, West, East and South regions. Industry experts and professionals mentored the finalists from each of these zones.
The contestants were judged by a panel consisting Founder, August Capital Partner's, Sameer Narula' Co-Founder, Ag Knowledge tech, Abhik Ghosh and Director, Consulting and Insights, IDC India, Shalil Gupta.
