TVS announces scholarship in memory of founder T S Srinivasan

Chennai: TVS Motor Company, one of the largest manufacturers of two-wheelers in the country, on Saturday announced the TVS Cheema Scholarship aimed at offering financial support to 500 students every year for professional degrees in engineering to commemorate the centenary year of its founder T S Srinivasan.

The scholarship, which will have a corpus of Rs 100 crore to cover full tuition and boarding fee, and study materials for the duration of the chosen study programme for the awardees, was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin at an event here. 

Around 500 students who pursue professional degrees in engineering and particularly in mechanical engineering which is key to robotics and future technologies will be awarded the scholarships every year. The company said Srinivasan, fondly known as Cheema, was a self-taught mechanical engineer and a believer in the power of lifelong learning. 

TVS Motor will work closely with premier educational institutions like IITs, NITs, and other engineering colleges to bring this scholarship to exceptional students in Tamil Nadu. Srinivasan is the younger son of T V Sundaram Iyengar, the founder of the TVS group.

Heaping lavish praises on Srinivasan, Stalin said TVS Motor played a major role in Tamil Nadu’s emergence as an industrial state. “Srinivasan was instrumental in transforming TVS from a service-oriented industry to manufacturing industry. He was a visionary who foresaw the future and invested in it,” Stalin added. 

Stalin said TVS Motor will be etched in the minds of people, especially small traders, who found a companion in TVS XL, a moped that helped their seamless movement from villages to towns. “Srinivasan once said mopeds should be part of every household just like bicycles, and he achieved this,” Stalin added. 

“TVS Motor is the face of Tamil Nadu's industrial prowess, a socially responsible corporation that stood strong during pandemics and natural disasters with their benevolent contributions,” the Chief Minister added.

TVS Motor also released The Painted Stork, a book to commemorate the manufacturing philosophy and conservation efforts of TVS Motor for more than two decades. Authored by Neil Hayward, a keen birder, the book showcases how TVS Motor has applied its philosophy of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to the natural habitat to achieve astonishing results in rewilding, the company said.  

“My father, who founded TVS Motor, believed in empowerment and transformation through education. As we celebrate his centenary, we hope this programme will help nurture unstoppable leaders and fuel original thinkers who will build a better future.,” Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor, said.