Anand Mahindra is in awe of this Indian 'Iron Man' from Imphal, ready to steer him in the right direction

Billionaire Anand Mahindra has managed to find one of India's many hidden gems in Imphal, and won't stop at anything from building his career.

Meet Prem Ningombam from Heirok, Manipur, who recreated the 'Iron Man' suit out of electronic waste without having any formal training in the field.

When the Mahindra Group Chairman first saw Ningombam's story on September 20, he was impressed beyond words.


Learning about his financial hardships, the businessman had expressed a desire to connect with the Fine Arts student so he could help him & his siblings with their education.

On Thursday, the 66-year-old tycoon took to Twitter to share that one of Mahindra's auto sector partners in Imphal, Shivz Autotech, reached out to Ningombam to understand his future plans and desires.


Lauding the mechanical engineering aspirant's ability to use scrap material and other basic tools for creating the 'Iron Man' suit, Mahindra mentioned that many people from privileged backgrounds forget to appreciate the availability of resources they have.

Alongside pictures from Shivz Autotech executive's visit, and Ningombam's drawings and designs for the suit, Mahindra wrote, "I am awestruck and inspired by Prem’s ambition & skills that have flowered despite — not because of — his circumstances."

He also shared a six-second-long video where Ningombam can be seen displaying the replica of the armour he created.

Furthermore, the Non-Executive Chairman of Tech Mahindra assured that Mahindra Group’s Chief Design Officer Pratap Bose, who was equally inspired by the young genius, will mentor his career, and Mahindra Foundation head Sheetal Mehta will facilitate Ningombam and his siblings' education.

"Move over Tony Stark. Make way for the REAL Iron Man. If someone can connect me to him, it will be a privilege for me and K.C. Mahindra Education Trust to support him," his caption read from an earlier post.


With a passion for drawing, Ningombam learnt to make the 'Iron Man' suit with notes from Hollywood films and the Internet.

His mother, the sole breadwinner of the family, promised to support his dreams, but Ningombam decided to not add on to the burden.

The unavailability of funds and financial hardships forced Ningombam to look for alternative means to complete his designs using electronic waste and metal scraps for the armour, and cardboard for the rest of the body. He could operate the suit using a remote control.

His 2015 dream finally took shape in 2020 when he put the suit together and gave it final touches. Soon after, his videos became a social media rage.

After building the suit, he started creating other droids, inspired by Hollywood movies. He said he wanted to fund his siblings' education and expressed desire to sell his creation for the same.