India is fast growing as a major hub for global research and
development (R&D). According to research firm Zinnov, currently
30 percent of the top 1,000 R&D spenders across verticals have
a presence in India. As per the report titled “Global R&D
Benchmarking Study: FY2011” released today, there is a total
installed talent pool of 2,20,000 in MNC subsidiaries in India and
these MNCs have spent USD 7-7.5 billion on the headcount in India
in FY11 alone. The study also found that the opportunity areas for
India to attract R&D investment span over 13 sectors with
software being the most invested in sector.
“India definitely has the right potential to become a key
R&D hub, not only in software for which it has gained
recognition globally, but also in other verticals such as
Aerospace, Automotive and Defence,” Sidhant Rastogi, Director
- Globalization Advisory, Zinnov, said.
The Zinnov report which analyzed trends in R&D activities
and investments globally stated that after a decline in the global
R&D spending in FY10, the fiscal of 2011 has seen an increase
in spending and the potential for India to be among the top nations
for R&D has become stronger. Global net sales and global
R&D spending have grown at a rate of 13.55 percent and 8.2
percent respectively. The contribution of R&D spend is divided
across North America, European Union and Asia Pacific regions at 36
percent, 34 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Though the APAC region’s contribution as a percentage of
the global R&D spend is seemingly small, it is noteworthy that
within the region, R&D investments have increased a significant
28 percent as compared to the previous year. India is a key
contributor to the APAC region which has the presence of one-third
of all global 1000 R&D spenders.
“The sentiment on the role of R&D in driving the
future continues to remain positive across geographies, supported
by the significant increase in R&D spending in FY2011. Global
R&D investments have grown by 8.2 percent as compared to the
previous year FY2010. This growth has been primarily driven by
organizations in the semiconductor, industrial & consumer
hardware and electrical & electronic sectors,” said
Rastogi.