"Technology Must Be Owned In India": Samtel CEO On Viksit Bharat Goal

India cannot become a "Viksit Bharat" unless the country develops and owns more of its own technology, Samtel Avionics CEO Puneet Kaura said on Sunday. Samtel is a well-known defence avionics company which is now expanding its footprint in space tech and drone manufacturing.Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit 2026, Kaura said, "We will never be a Viksit Bharat till we actually have enough owned-in-India IP-wise technologies."#NDTVDefenceSummit2026 | "We will never be a Viksit Bharat till we actually have enough owned-in-India IP, IP-wise, technologies": @SamtelAvionics CEO @PuneetKaura2104@AdityaRajKaul pic.twitter.com/JX6r9DxeNY - NDTV (@ndtv) September 27, 2026Kaura said that India needs to do more than just manufacture defence equipment. He stated that India has a big opportunity in areas such as drones, artificial intelligence, space, sensors and autonomous systems. "Not just Make in India, but own in India," Kaura added.