More than three decades ago, Pawan Goenka, the current InSpace (a Department of Space entity) chairman and a Padma Shri awardee, joined Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) as a deputy head in R&D, shaping the company’s automotive future from behind the scenes. He spent years leading research and development, building Mahindra’s most iconic vehicles. But today, he finds himself on the other side of the experience—not as a creator, but as a customer.

And watching him unveil his own Mahindra XUV 9e with his wife was Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, who shared a video of the moment on X on Thursday, calling it a special milestone and a moment of immense pride.

Mahindra wrote, "This is not just another video for me..."

"When I see Pawan and his wife Mamta buying one of our first electric-origin SUVs, I am flooded with emotions and memories of working alongside him," the post said.

Mahindra shared that after convincing Goenka, who was working at General Motors in the US, to lead the company's R&D efforts in Nashik, Goenka also "began questioning his decision to stay back."

Yet Goenka stayed, led the development of the popular Scorpio, and rose to become the MD and CEO of M&M in 2016.

After retiring in 2021, Goenka assumed the chairmanship of In-Space, a key initiative under the Department of Space dedicated to promoting private sector participation in India's space industry. He was recently conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award.

Goenka, who also holds a stellar academic background, earned his B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. Currently, he also chairs the Board of Governors at IIT Madras and leads the Steering Committee for Advancing Local Value-Add and Exports (SCALE) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Recently, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) launched a ₹25 crore Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) to nurture the growth of India’s space technology capabilities.

Mahindra says he sees Goenka as someone who takes pride in and endorses the Indian auto industry while enjoying "the fruits of his own labour."

"So, as I said, this is not an ordinary video for me. It is a source of pride and joy," Mahindra added.

Goenka, in a March 20 post, wrote, "We are now proud owners of the XEV 9e. The car delivers everything it promised and more. Thank you Mahindra for creating this feature rich, tech-laden masterpiece."