Mumbai, October 16, 2017: Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance), a leading provider of financial services in rural and semi-urban India, has announced the winners of its rural talent hunt programme, ‘Bharat Ki Khoj’. The programme, a unique initiative designed specifically for rural India, is in line with Mahindra Group’s ‘Rise’ philosophy. It provides participants from the deepest pockets of rural India with a platform to showcase their talent at the District and State level before qualifying for the Finals. Top ten finalists showcased their talent across various performing arts including dance, music, art and live theatrics at the grand finale in Mumbai.
Shibor Mawkon Group from Meghalaya emerged as the winner in the Group Performance category for their rendition of a Khasi folk song to the tune of their traditional local instrument while 12 year old Pratyasha from Orissa won the winners title in the individuals’ category for her classical Odishi dance performance.
Bharat Ki Khoj’ celebrates the richness, diversity, and excellence in the rural pockets of India. The programme covered over 2,500 villages across four states namely Gujarat, Odisha, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand this year. The district rounds witnessed participation of over 4,500 people which culminated into the State Finals. Six rounds of State Finals were conducted before the grand finale. Several performing art forms such as singing, dancing, dramatics, art, handicrafts, instrumentals and bhajans were performed during the preliminary auditions and participants across all age groups enrolled.
Mr. Ramesh Iyer, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Finance said, “At Mahindra Finance, it is our constant endeavour to transform lives by driving positive change. ‘Bharat Ki Khoj’ is an initiative through which we strive to reach the unreached, in line with our mission to serve the underserved and underbanked rural customer. There is great talent that resides in the deep pockets of Rural India, untouched and unseen owing to non-accessibility and very limited exposure. This programme is carried to reach out and connect with the remotest villages of rural India and provide them with a platform to showcase their hidden talent. We are delighted to see extraordinary participation of over 4,500 people this year.”
The jury comprised of reputed artists such as Rajat Nath, former music consultant of ‘Aawaz ki Duniya’, Nirali Someshwar, the owner, founder and creative director at Nirali’s Happy Feet Dance Institute, Pune and Anant Panshikar, Senior theatre personality and producer of classic plays like ‘Lagnachi Bedi’ and ‘Lekure Udand Zali’.
About Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (Mahindra Finance), part of the Mahindra Group, is one of India’s leading non-banking finance companies. Focused on the rural and semi-urban sector, Mahindra Finance has over 4.8 million customers and has an AUM of over USD 6 billion. Mahindra Finance is a leading vehicle and tractor financier and also offers fixed deposits and loans to SMEs. It has 1,178 offices across the country and is the first Non-Banking Finance Company from India to form a part of Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Mahindra Finance has been ranked among the Top 50 “India’s Best Companies to Work For 2017” by Great Place to Work® (GPTW) Institute in collaboration with The Economic Times.
Mahindra Finance’s Insurance Broking subsidiary, Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited (MIBL), is a licensed Composite Broker providing Direct and Reinsurance broking services.
Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (MRHFL) a subsidiary of Mahindra Finance provides loans for purchase, renovation, construction of houses to individuals in the rural and semi-urban areas of the country.
Mahindra Asset Management Company Private Limited (MAMCPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra Finance, is acting as the Investment Manager of Mahindra Mutual Fund.
Mahindra Finance has a JV in US, Mahindra Finance USA LLC, in partnership with De Lage Landen, a subsidiary of Rabo Bank, for financing Mahindra tractors in US.
Visit us at: www.mahindrafinance.com
About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group is a USD 19 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defence and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 200,000 people across 100 countries.
Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com