Indian student gets a BMW from his teachers for topping an engineering entrance exam

An Indian student has been rewarded a swanky red BMW by his coaching institute for topping the entrance exam for India's prestigious engineering colleges, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).

Tanmaya Shekhawat had studied at the coaching institute in the western Indian town of Sikar in the state of Rajasthan, and got the 11th rank at the highly-competitive IIT entrance exam. The vehicle isn't new though, and was bought two years ago by the institute director. 

The institute's director had reportedly announced that he would gift his car to anyone who got a rank under 20. After being driven for 1,500 km, it is now worth Rs 2.75 million ($40,900). This is the first vehicle for Shekhawat's family, and the student said that he would have to learn driving in order to drive the BMW from the coaching institute to his home.

In India, numerous coaching institute give away gifts to high-performing students as part of their publicity to draw more aspirants. Shekhawat's extravagant gift is likely to be a marketing strategy for the institute to attract students to the town of Sikar, which is trying to become a coaching hub for aspiring engineers. 

Sikar is hoping to replicate the success of nearby town of Kota, which houses a cluster of coaching institutes for engineering and medical entrance exams. Over 1,60,000 students enroll in these institutes every year. Recently, Kota has been in the news for a string of student suicides linked to its high pressure environment.

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