We should increase investments in Research and Development – Dr. Forbes
Pune, August 27: Basic structural changes in industries, increasing investment in Research and Development (R&D) segment, initiating investments for R&D at university level itself and empowering India in terms of R&D at global level, are some of the major transformations we must strive to implement in the system, mentioned Dr. Naushad Forbes, Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall. He was delivering a talk on ‘India’s National Innovative System’ in a lecture series titled, ‘Make in India – Success Stories and Lessons Learnt’.
Organised by Pune International Centre (PIC), the session was chaired by Ravi Pandit, Co-Founder, Chairman and Group CEO of KPIT Technologies Ltd. Anant Sardeshmukh, Director General, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries & Agriculture (MCCIA) and Prashant Girbane, Honorary Director PIC were also present on the occasion.
Emphasizing on the need of Increase in R&D investments, Dr. Forbes said, “In 1991, after major financial reforms have been introduced in India, we must check as to what have we achieved in the field of R&D since last 25 years. When we compare ourselves with the neighbouring countries like China or Korea, its clearly visible that during the course of time these countries have evolved their business culture around R&D and thus made their strong presence in the global market. Whereas, Indian Companies, due to lack of mindset and willingness hesitate to invest and so there is lack of successful vibrant competitors on the global platform.”
Comparing the R&D investments that take place in India and other countries, Dr. Forbes added, “In 1970 the R&D investment as percentage of GDP was 0.35 % for India and 0.40 % for Korea. Over the period of time, it increased to only 0.90 % from 0.35 % for India but it increased drastically from 0.40 % to 4.2 % for Korea in 2014.
Concluding his session, Dr. Forbes underlined the importance of R&D for start-up companies. He said, “Country is witnessing a huge wave of start-ups that are emerging majorly nowadays. The pace with which start-up industry is evolving, is really admirable. However, this segment too needs to focus on R&D along with the service industry. Similar to other industries, we are still in need of participation of start-ups in manufacturing sector.”
During the occasion, Ravi Pandit shared his perspective on R&D in Automotive Electronics Industry.
