Scaling up R&D efforts to expand possibilities

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" - Steve Jobs India's research and development (R&D) expenditure lags far behind that of other countries like China. Listed Indian companies (above the market cap of Rs 500 crore) spent Rs 8,400 cr on R&D (0.65% of the aggregate sales of the companies spending on R&D) in FY18 as against Rs 7,965 cr in FY14 - barely an increase of one per cent year-on-year. The 'Make In India' initiative, coupled with other tax incentives, was expected to boost R&D activities. However, they failed to live up to the expectation. Nevertheless, bucking the trend, several pharma companies in India have stepped up their spending on R&D. Their continuous investments in R&D re