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Visakhapatnam : Naga Bharath Daka, Co-Founder and COO of Skyroot Aerospace, spoke at the inaugural session of the 31st CII Partnership Summit 2026. He said the coming years will be India’s deep-tech decade. In his view, India will not only help the world with technology adoption and manufacturing, but will also create deep-technology product solutions from India for the world.
He said the Government of Andhra Pradesh’s deep-technology cluster initiative is the right step, and that it will help the state lead India’s journey into this decade.
About Naga Bharath Daka
- Current role: He is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space-tech company. Pawan Kumar Chandana is his co-founder and the company’s CEO.
- ISRO background: He is a former ISRO scientist. He worked on launch-vehicle design, including the GSLV Mk III, India’s heaviest launch vehicle, and received an internal innovation award there.
- Education: He is an IIT graduate with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in microelectronics and VLSI design.
- Founding Skyroot: He and Chandana left secure government jobs to found Skyroot in 2018. They had been close friends and colleagues since joining ISRO together in 2012.
- Responsibilities: He oversees operations, avionics, and guidance, navigation and control (GNC) at the company.
- Milestones: In 2022, Skyroot launched India’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S, into space. More recently, its Vikram-1 launch was reported as India’s first private rocket to reach orbit. The company is also described as India’s first private space-sector unicorn.
- Propulsion: Under the team’s leadership, Skyroot has demonstrated all three of its propulsion technologies, including a test of an engine using LNG and liquid oxygen.
- Vision: He has said he wants to build India’s most innovative and globally competitive space-tech company, making satellite launches affordable and reliable.