Sona Comstar highlighted the role of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics and physical AI in shaping the future of Indian manufacturing and mobility at IIT Delhi’s FITT FORWARD 2026 event.Priya Kapur, Director and CSR Chairperson, Sona Comstar, participated in the panel discussion titled “Manufacturing Tech & Semiconductors: Can India Build What the World Needs Next?” The session focused on India’s potential to develop globally competitive technologies, strengthen domestic capabilities and advance innovation in manufacturing.During the discussion, Kapur emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between industry and academia to convert research capabilities into future-ready skills and deployable technologies. She highlighted that industry can contribute real-world engineering challenges and manufacturing use cases, while academic institutions can provide 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 Kapur.She added that India’s next phase of manufacturing growth will require greater technological capabilities, indigenous intellectual property development and stronger pathways to move innovations from laboratories to factory floors.Sona Comstar’s Samridh Bharat CSR Programme supports technology-led entrepreneurship and research through collaborations with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi and IIMA Ventures, IIM Ahmedabad’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre.The programme supports start-ups and projects focused on mobility solutions, clean technologies and environmental challenges. Through its Innovation in Mobility Programme with FITT at IIT Delhi, initiated in 2020, Sona Comstar supports deep-tech start-ups working in areas including electric mobility, batteries, motors, hydrogen, energy storage, advanced materials and clean manufacturing.The initiative has evolved into an ecosystem-building platform combining grants, technical incubation, market linkages and access to research infrastructure. Supported start-ups have progressed towards market readiness with innovations including AI-enabled battery systems, sodium-ion batteries, rare-earth-free motors, hydrogen technologies and mobile electric vehicle charging solutions.Sona Comstar currently has more than 490 R&D professionals, including 110 software engineers, and invests around 3% of its revenue in research and development.During the panel discussion, Kapur also highlighted the importance of shared testing infrastructure, specialised laboratories and industry-led research programmes to accelerate technology validation and adoption across manufacturing and mobility sectors.