Satish Kumar Kaura

Satish Kumar Kaura is an Indian technocrat, industrialist and the founder of Samtel Group, where he holds the post of the chairman. He is also the chairman and managing director of Samcor Glass Limited and the executive director of Samtel Colour Limited. An elected Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Kaura is the first recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2004, for his contributions to Indian industrial sector.

Biography S. K. Kaura was born in a middle-class family on 18 December 1944 and joining the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he graduated in electrical engineering (BTech) in 1966. Later, he moved to Canada and secured a master's degree (MS) in electronics from Carleton University. Returning to India, he founded Samtel Group in 1973 and established Teletube Electronics Limited, a small industry for manufacturing television picture tubes, in 1974. In 1986, he established Samtel Color Limited, with technical and commercial collaborations with conglomerates like Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and the company had an installed capacity of 10 million picture tubes per annum. He also set up Samtel Display Systems (Later renamed Samtel Avionics Ltd. ) for manufacturing of high-technology products for avionics and military applications, rugged displays, cockpit displays and equipment for military and commercial platforms. His son Puneet Kaura is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Samtel Avionics Ltd. Samtel Avionics has two joint venture companies, Samtel HAL Display Systems, in association with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 2006, for the manufacture of electronic display systems and Samtel Thales Avionics Limited, joining with the French multinational, Thales Group in 2010, for the manufacture of Helmet-Mounted Sight and Display Systems and modern Avionics Systems. Samtel Glass Limited, incorporated in 1986, and Samtel Machines and Projects Limited are the other companies founded by Satish Kumar Kaura. The Group, as of 2005, has an employee strength of 4500 and has nine factories spread across India and Germany.

Kaura has been associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as the president of its Northern Chapter, When the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur instituted the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1989, he was the first to receive it.