Sona Comstar, a mobility technology company, highlighted the growing role of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics and physical AI in shaping the future of Indian manufacturing and mobility at FITT FORWARD 2026, organised by the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Priya Kapur, Director and CSR Chairperson, Sona Comstar, participated in a panel discussion titled “Manufacturing Tech & Semiconductors: Can India Build What the World Needs Next?” The session examined India’s ability to develop globally competitive technologies, strengthen domestic capabilities and build a leadership position in advanced manufacturing.
Ms Kapur called for stronger industry-academia collaboration to translate India’s talent and research capabilities into future-ready skills and commercially deployable technologies. She noted that industry can contribute real-world engineering challenges, manufacturing experience and practical use cases, while institutions such as IIT Delhi can bring deep-technology research, specialised laboratories and multidisciplinary expertise.
“Sona Comstar’s technology focus spans advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics, physical AI and the broader future of mobility. Strong industry-academia partnerships can connect India’s talent and research capabilities with real-world engineering challenges, enabling us to develop solutions that are relevant, scalable and globally competitive,” said Ms Kapur.
She emphasised that the next phase of India’s manufacturing growth will require more than increased production capacity. Stronger technological capabilities, indigenous intellectual property and the ability to move innovations from laboratories to factory floors will be critical to building globally competitive manufacturing capabilities.
Sona Comstar currently has more than 490 R&D professionals, including 110 software engineers, and invests an average of around 3% of its revenue in research and development. The company’s technology focus spans advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities as well as emerging areas such as AI, robotics and physical AI.
Through its Samridh Bharat CSR Programme, Sona Comstar works with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer at IIT Delhi and IIMA Ventures, IIM Ahmedabad’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, to support technology-led entrepreneurship and research. The initiatives support the incubation and development of innovation-driven start-ups and projects, including mobility solutions aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels and technologies addressing environmental challenges such as air pollution and stubble burning.
Ms Kapur also highlighted the importance of building a sustainable innovation ecosystem through industry-led research programmes, shared testing infrastructure and access to specialised laboratories. Such collaborations can help shorten technology validation cycles, strengthen industry readiness and accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies across manufacturing and mobility.
The discussions at FITT FORWARD 2026 underscored the need for continued collaboration among industry, academia and the innovation ecosystem to develop technologies, skills and intellectual property that can strengthen India’s position in advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility.
