Dr Pawan Goenka, former managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra and current chairman of INSPACe, has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in the ‘Trade and Industry’ category. He has been honoured for his contributions to strengthening India’s space sector and his role in developing state-of-the-art automotive capabilities in the country.
INSPACe (Indian National Space Promotion & Authorization Centre) is a single-window autonomous government agency that promotes, permits, and oversees private sector space-based activities.
Dr Pawan Goenka's professional profile
Dr Goenka, a true-blue engineer, is an ardent proponent of the Make-in-India philosophy. He earned his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Dr Goenka worked at General Motors’ R&D Centre in Detroit, USA, from 1979 to 1993. He then joined Mahindra & Mahindra as General Manager (R&D) and was appointed Managing Director in 2016. Dr Goenka retired in March 2021 after 27 years with Mahindra and over four decades in the automotive industry, only to take up a new assignment at the Government of India’s Department of Space.
In 2019, as India Auto Inc faced a slowdown, Dr Goenka, a regular speaker at the annual SIAM and ACMA conventions, outlined 10 mantras for the industry to navigate the downturn and emerge stronger in a future he envisioned as an era of technological and other disruptions.
Dr Goenka, the first Indian to be awarded the FISITA Model of Honour in 2016, is also known as the ‘prime architect’ of SAE India – the national body of automotive engineers in India. He is the only person to have been voted Autocar Professional's 'Man of the Year' twice (CY2006 and CY2011).
As congratulations poured in across social media platforms, Dr Goenka took to X to thank people.
Friends, I am truly overwhelmed with the congratulatory msgs I’ve received. I will respond to each of you. In the mean time, let me use this platform to say thank you. Many of you have played a part in making me worthy of this recognition, and for that, I’m deeply grateful. ��
— Pawan K Goenka (@GoenkaPk) January 26, 2025
The Padma Awards, one of India’s highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. They are given in various disciplines and fields of activities – art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service. The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced annually on Republic Day.
Other automotive and motorsport luminaries who have received a Padma award include TVS' Venu Srinivasan and Anand Mahindra, and Narain Karthikeyan.
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