Anand Mahindra lauds J&K math teacher for inventing solar car, assures help

Necessity is the primary driver of innovation. Indeed, ingenious ideas can stem from the most unlikely circumstances. While the world has been grappling with global warming and alarming fuel crisis, a mathematics teacher from Srinagar built a solar-powered car.

The invention comes at a time when fuel costs are soaring and electric cars are increasingly gaining prominence across the globe. Bilal Ahmed from Jammu and Kashmir has invented an electric car that could be an affordable alternative. Ahmed’s electric car, which is an outcome of 11 years of research and hard work, runs on solar energy. His innovation is being viewed as a step in the right direction when it comes to adopting greener ways of transport.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra, who is known to have a keen interest in technology and innovation, took to his Twitter account to applaud Ahmed’s creation. The 67-year-old billionaire said that Ahmed's passion was commendable and heaped praise on him for single-handedly developing the prototype.


While admiring the ingenious creation, he said that the design needed to evolve into a production-friendly version. The billionaire businessman went on to offer assistance from his team at Mahindra Research Valley who can work alongside the inventor to develop it further.

“Bilal’s passion is commendable. I applaud his single-handedly developing this prototype. Clearly the design needs to evolve into a production-friendly version. Perhaps our team at Mahindra Research Valley can work alongside him to develop it further,” read the tweet by Mahindra.
Ahmed, who is a mathematics teacher from Srinagar’s Sanat Nagar, has always been passionate about cars. He dedicated over a decade to his dream project, the solar-powered car. The car comes with solar panels on the body and a charging port inside.

The schoolteacher designed and developed the car without any financial assistance. In one of his recent interviews with Indiatimes.com Ahmed quipped that if he had got the necessary support, he could have become the Elon Musk of Kashmir.

Reportedly, he envisions affordable cars with luxurious amenities for commoners. It is this vision that encouraged him to study cars that were made in the 1950s. He modified his car after watching various videos and kept adding new features. Ahmed initially conceptualised the car to be a vehicle for persons with disabilities.