Govt to double R&D spending in 5 years, says PM

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Feb 20, 2012

The Government aims to double the overall spending on research and development (R&D) to at least two per cent of GDP by 2017, the end of 12{+t}{+h} Plan, from the present one per cent, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said on Monday.

Stating that private sector has to play a greater role in R&D investments, Dr Singh said a significant proportion of such spending needs to be directed to agriculture and allied activities.

“Indeed, it is unlikely that the goal of two per cent of GDP in research can be achieved unless a significant part of this is financed by the private sector,” Dr Singh said at the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

Infineria plans to expand R&D in India

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Dec 06, 2011

Bangalore: Digital optical networking company Infineria, which has around 300 of its 1,200 worldwide employees in India, plans to expand its sales and R&D activities in the country.

Becton eyes R&D facility

Source: Business standard, Sept 21, 2011

Mumbai: Becton Dickinson, a $7.5-billion medical technology major, is set to outsource its research and development (R&D) services for emerging markets to India by setting up an R&D centre. The facility will come under multiple partnerships, which its Indian arm eyes with domestic pharmaceutical companies and institutions.

Freescale opens R&D center in Hyderabad’s SEZ

Source: The Economic Times, July 28, 2011

Hyderabad: US basedFreescale Semiconductor has set up its India research and development centre in Hyderabad to drive innovation and development of solutions for the company’s new platforms.

The company has established its centre here to take advantage of India’s cost advantage and easy availability of technically skilled manpower.

Activity at the new facility is expected to deliver solutions that enhance Freescale’s platform for applications including data center, security appliances, mobile wireless infrastructure and small business networking among other leading edge technologies.

“This new R&D center underscores our commitment to extending Freescale’s market and technology leadership in the networking space by delivering comprehensive, scalable and secure solutions that help speed time-to-market and optimize the performance and cost efficient advantages of our highly advanced Q or IQ and Power QUICC product families,” said Senior Vice President & General Manager Dr. Lisa Su.

For more than a decade, Freescale has been driving innovation from its India Design Center. “The R&D in Hyderabad SEZ will continue to power innovative ideas and help foster connected intelligence engineered to change the world,” said Ganesh Guruswamy, vice president and country manager, Freescale Semiconductor India Pvt. Ltd.

Freescale Semiconductor designs and manufactures embeddedsemiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world.

LG to invest Rs 800 crore on India-specific R&D

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Jun 16, 2011

Chennai: LG Electronics India has chalked a Rs 1,500-crore investment plan for 2011.

Mr Soon Kwon, President-South West Asia and Managing Director, LG Electronics India, told Business Line the company will invest Rs 800 crore in capacity expansion for various product categories and India-specific R&D, and Rs 700 crore in marketing and enhancing brand visibility. India is the most focused market for LG.

MSD, Wellcome Trust plan R&D centre in India

Source: Business Standard, Mar 16, 2011

Chennai/ Hyderabad: Drug firm MSD India, the fully-owned subsidiary of US-based Merck & Co, is planning set up a research and development (R&D) centre in India in joint venture with UK-based Wellcome Laboratories.

The centre — MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories —will be a 50:50 joint venture and come up with a total investment of $130 million (Rs 586 crore). Of this, MSD would invest $65 million. It would to develop affordable vaccines for the developing countries.

SAP Labs plans ‘Made in India’ products

Source: Business Standard, Feb 08, 2011

Bangalore: SAP Labs India, the research and development (R&D) arm of the German global business management solutions firm, SAP, plans to develop two global products, end-to-end, from its centre in Bangalore.

BHEL & Bharat Electronics, two PSUs in top R&D spenders in India

Source: The Economic Times, Dec 28, 2010

In India Inc’s research and development firmament, it’s the Bharats that shine the brightest. Two public sector undertakings, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited, are standout performers among brick-and-mortar companies in India. If you leave aside pharma companies, whose R&D average investments are traditionally higher owing to the research-driven sector they operate in, BHEL (Rs 830 crore) and BEL (Rs 292 crore) spend more on R&D than most of their manufacturing industry peers. While it is only recently that large sections of Indian industry have realised the importance of R&D, for both BEL and BHEL, it has been a part of their organisational DNA for more than a decade.

Novozymes sets up R&D facility in city

Source: Business Standard, Nov. 23, 2010

Chennai/ Bangalore: Novozymes, one of the largest producer of industrial enzymes, has opened its new research and development (R&D) centre in Bangalore today.

The centre will undertake protein engineering work for Novozymes’ global requirements and will act as a resource base for the company’s global discovery projects.

Nissan R&D centre begins work on battery research

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Oct. 27, 2010

Chennai: Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India Pvt Ltd has begun research work in the area of battery. The centre, housed in the Mahindra World City Industrial Zone near Chennai, will work on developing technologies in lead acid and lithium batteries, Mr Haruyoshi Kumura, Director, Nissan Science Foundation, told journalists here on Tuesday.