THE INNOVATION LEAP

India dreams of becoming a product nation. But unless the corporate sector significantly increases spending on R&D, the country will continue to lag behind global peers

- Ayaan Kartik

On the stage was chief executive of computing infrastructure behemoth Nvidia, Jensen Huang.

Seated across him was the chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani. The occasion was the Nvidia AI Summit in Mumbai in late October, 2024.

The two were discussing innovation in India. Bringing up India’s aspirations towards technological sovereignty, its ready infrastructure and talent pool, Ambani told Huang, “India is fast becoming an innovation hub for the world...and not just the manufacturing hub.”

That an innovation hub needs a robust ecosystem that actively involves the private sector was a fact Ambani readily acknowledged. But while there is consensus on the merits of owning intellectual property rights and unlocking value, India Inc is yet to back up its words with action.

Numbers Dampener

The 2023–24 Economic Survey states that India’s research and development (R&D) as a percentage of gross domestic product stood at 0.64%. Within this, the private sector’s contribution was just 36.4% compared to 77% and 75% in China and the United States, respectively.

The private sector understands the need to step up R&D. Amit Chadha, managing director and chief executive at the multinational L&T Technology Services, says India must become a product nation to attain tech sovereignty. “You can’t simply focus on manufacturing without R&D and you don’t want to be a ‘build-to-print’ nation. Look at the engineers graduating from India and the ability of big industrial houses to invest in infrastructure, talent and proof of concepts ahead of time. This is critical,” Chadha says.