Bengaluru Edition brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs and experts to explore the role of AI, innovation and indigenous technology in shaping India’s future.
Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station, and investor-entrepreneur Mohandas Pai were among the luminaries who addressed the Bengaluru edition of Architects of Viksit Bharat. The ZEE Media and SAP initiative reached India’s Silicon Valley, where startups, technology and innovation as well as ideas and opportunities go hand in hand. Having travelled through Delhi, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Hyderabad and Jaipur, the initiative in Bengaluru continued to recognise the minds, innovators, entrepreneurs and enterprises shaping India’s ambitious journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047.
Raktim Das, CEO , Zee media, said about the Bengaluru edition: “India’s growth story is ultimately about people who take risks, create jobs, solve problems, and dream beyond boundaries. An idea, a belief, the courage to go ahead and just do it. That spirit is at the heart of our conversation in Bengaluru during Architects of Viksit Bharat, to celebrate India’s entrepreneurs and home-grown Indian enterprises.”
Rahul Singh, Head of Marketing, SAP Indian Subcontinent, said: “India’s next phase of growth will depend on how effectively businesses translate technology into meaningful business outcomes. AI is no longer just a technology conversation; it is becoming an important part of how enterprises innovate, make decisions and create value. Through Architects of Viksit Bharat, we are bringing these conversations to the forefront and highlighting the businesses and leaders who are using technology to build more agile, resilient and future-ready enterprises.”
Visionaries and business leaders honoured
Throughout the day, more than 25 Indian visionaries and homegrown business leaders were felicitated by senior leaders from ZEE Media and SAP for their exemplary contribution to India’s growth story and the larger Viksit Bharat Abhiyan.
They included:
Sameer Joshi — CEO & Director, NewSpace Research & Technologies Pvt Ltd
Srikanth Iyer — Co-founder & CEO, HomeLane
Arvind Varchaswi — MD, Sri Sri Tattva
Anand Dubey — Indkal Technologies Pvt Ltd
Babu C. Joseph — White Gold Money
Abhishek Poddar — Plum Benefits
Satish Machani, CMD, and Vivek Krishnan, CEO — SSS Defence
Sameer Joshi — CEO & Director, NewSpace Research & Technologies Pvt Ltd
Amit Gupta — Co-founder & CEO, YULU Bikes
Sathya Shankar — MD, Megha Fruit Processing Pvt Ltd
Rathees Nambiar — Group Chairman, Nambiar Builders Pvt Ltd
Shivraj Desai — MD, Access Warehousing Pvt Ltd
Rajendra Gandhi — MD, Stove Kraft Ltd
Antony Cherukara — CEO, VST Tillers Tractors Ltd
Adithya Prashanth — Director, Surfa Coats (India) Pvt Ltd
Amrita Malik — Co-founder & President, Innoviti Technology Pvt Ltd
DTM Nagaraja Rao — Co-founder, Bayar’s Coffee
Manoj Kumar Krishnan — Whole-Time Director, Hitachi Rail STS India
Ankit Gulechha — Director – Branding and Marketing, Kushal’s Fashion Jewellery
Harsh Somaiya — Co-founder, The Bear House
Setting the Context for India’s Next Growth Story
In his opening address, Abhishek Sahi, Head of Customer Advisory – Corporate, SAP India, spoke about the profound transformation underway in the business landscape, with AI, technology, innovation and automation changing the way organisations operate, make decisions and create value. He highlighted the role of SAP in helping Indian businesses navigate this transformation — particularly traditional and established enterprises looking to embrace technology, improve efficiency and create new avenues for sustainable growth.
India in the Right Space
Addressing the session ‘India in the Right Space’, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla offered valuable insights from his journey. He shared what it takes to operate in space, how astronauts adapt to an environment unlike anything on Earth, and the discipline, preparation and teamwork required to achieve extraordinary missions.
Shukla also spoke about the enormous opportunity for India in the space sector — from scientific research and human spaceflight to new technologies, private participation and the creation of a larger space economy.
India@100: Agile, Autonomous and AIconic
Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, addressed the session titled ‘India@100: Agile, Autonomous and AIconic’, giving his insights into what it will take for India to build a truly developed economy by 2047. Taking the conversation beyond conventional business metrics, he focused on the deeper question of how India thinks, how its people approach opportunity and risk, and how that mindset ultimately shapes the country’s outcomes.
Becoming Viksit Bharat is not simply about achieving higher economic numbers, he said. It requires a fundamental shift in the way individuals, businesses and institutions think and operate.
India must build an ecosystem that encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, education, technology adoption and risk-taking, while creating the infrastructure and policies that allow businesses to scale globally, he said. The pathway to Viksit Bharat lies in creating a more productive and skilled workforce, empowering entrepreneurs, embracing technology and AI, strengthening India’s manufacturing and innovation capabilities, and building globally competitive Indian companies.
India Enters the AInterprise Era?
The session ‘India Enters the AInterprise Era?’ brought together an illustrious panel: Anil Balgi, Executive Head of India Business, NTT DATA Business Solutions; Arvind Varchaswi, MD, Sri Sri Tattva; and Srikanth Iyer, Co-founder & CEO, HomeLane.
The discussion explored how AI is moving beyond being a technology tool and becoming a fundamental part of how enterprises operate.
The panel also looked at the human side of this transformation — how organisations can combine technology with people, experience and domain knowledge to build businesses that are more agile, adaptive and competitive.
India Writes A New Code of Combat
The final panel titled ‘India Writes A New Code of Combat’ featured Vivek Krishnan, CEO, SSS Defence; Sameer Joshi, CEO & Director, NewSpace Research & Technologies Pvt Ltd; B. P. Dakshayani, Former Group Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, popularly referred to as the ‘Rocket Woman’; Nikhil Mallavarapu, Joint MD, Centum Electronics; and Dr. V. S. Hegde, Former CMD, Antrix Corporation Ltd, Former Scientific Secretary, ISRO and Adviser, Ananth Technologies.
The panel explored how technology and combat are increasingly going hand in hand. The discussion highlighted how India’s ability to build indigenous technologies and strengthen its domestic defence and space ecosystem will be crucial to becoming more self-reliant, technologically capable and strategically resilient.
An Evening of Ideas, Recognition and Collaboration
As the formal sessions came to a close, the Bengaluru evening transitioned into an engaging networking dinner. Leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, technology experts and industry veterans came together over conversations that extended beyond the stage.
The discussions continued about businesses, technology, AI, startups, opportunities, India’s global ambitions and the challenges that lie ahead.
And as India moves towards 2047, the message from Bengaluru was unmistakable: Viksit Bharat will not be built by one sector, one company or one institution. It will be built by thousands of ambitious minds — the entrepreneurs, innovators, technologists, scientists, business leaders and changemakers who are ready to imagine India’s future and build it today.