Maruti Suzuki has organized the first-ever National Design Challenge this year, providing young talents with a platform to showcase their skills and creativity, and win prizes and rewards. If you are looking for full details about the challenge, you can find them here.
The 2025 Maruti Suzuki National Design Challenge was concluded on 26 December 2025, as the company announced the winners from 400 students from 70 design nations and international institutes.
The three teams from the institutes have secured their top 3 positions, and seven other teams got the recognition for participation. The contest has opened doors for the young talents looking for an opportunity, and now the company plans to make it an annual thing.
What was the Maruti Suzuki National Design Challenge?
Maruti Suzuki announces the inaugural edition of the National Design Challenge 2025 in June 2025 and calls for entries by 15 August 2025. The challenge allows all individuals who are aged 18 or above to participate, who are enrolled in a design course at international or domestic design institutes.
The participants can either participate in a group or individually. The challenge was organized to identify the young talents, nurture the young generation, and offer them a platform where they can showcase their design and creativity.
In the challenge, participants have to go through four stages – Ideation, 3D Modeling, Final Design Concept, and Concept Pitch. The last stage of the challenge was held on 05 December 2025, where the shortlisted 10 entries presented their pitch.
Who are the winners of the Maruti Suzuki National Design Challenge?
After four rounds of the Maruti Suzuki National Design Challenge 2025, the winners were announced based on the selection criteria: creativity, aesthetics, innovation, feasibility, and contest theme.
Here are the teams that secured the first, second, and third positions in the challenge after the last round evaluation
- First: MIT Institute of Design, Pune
- Second: Association of Designers of Indian at VIT, Vellore
- Third: Strate School of Design, Bengaluru
What are the prices of the MSNDC?
The winners of the 2025 MSNDC will receive the following prizes and an amazing opportunity:
- 1st Prize: MSIL Design Internship for 6 months and prize money of ₹2,00,00.
- 2nd Prize: MSIL Internship for 6 months and prize money of ₹1,50,000.
- 3rd Prize: MSIL Internship for 6 months and prize money of ₹1,00,000.
The contestants who made it to the 4th to 10th position will also receive a 6-month internship and a consolation gift worth ₹20,000 each, and the participants who made it to the 11th and 25th position will also receive the consolation gift worth ₹10,000 each.
Students who didn’t make it to the top 25 entries should retain their ownership of IP rights on their submitted design after the challenge ends. The winners cannot do the same; they have submitted the IP rights to the organizers.
What’s the benefit of the MSNDC for the auto industry and young minds?
The initiative of the annual design challenge from Maruti Suzuki will benefit the industry and young talents in the following ways:
- With this challenge, Maruti Suzuki has given a path to the young minds to enter the industry fairly and start their career with them.
- The company has started working with startups and young entrepreneurs for mobility solutions; however, with this initiative, they will also overcome the design challenge and find emerging designers or shape them for the future.
- The company would be able to meet the changing customer demands in this competitive market with the young talent’s fresh and new perspectives.
- Freshers would get to experience the real world of automotive design and get to work with the Maruti Suzuki professional team of designers and engineers.
- This initiative will build a healthy automotive design ecosystem in India and bridge the gap between industry and academia.
Maruti Suzuki concluded the 2025 National Design Challenge on a good note yesterday as they revealed their plan to make it an annual event, considering the success of the contest. The winners and the rest of the top 10 participants have secured a great opportunity for an internship of 6 months.
