Rajesh Subramaniam(RS) founded embedUR in 2004 and the company is known for its cutting edge products serving clients who are among the Fortune 500 network and telecom equipment providers.
IE: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT APPROACH TO R&D?
RS: We foresee our customer engagement and general market trends and invest a proportionate amount every year. We invested in cutting-edge technology in the past and it has started bearing fruit. Currently, we are evolving and directing our R&D efforts towards AI, ML, edge computing and this will enable our growth engine for the future.
IE: WHAT STRATEGIES DO you EMPLOY TO MAINTAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE?
RS: Whenever we work on solutions, we try to identify possible adjacent spaces that could benefit from the same. With every new requirement or solution, we conduct a survey of such adjacencies. For areas of strategic value and importance to the industry and the organisation, we create focused work groups to pin down the state-of-the-art in the industry, survey the best practices and build a solution for a use-case. Over time, as particular use-cases see wider traction, we funnel the company’s best experts into CoEs that bring their expertise to bear across the board.
IE: CAN YOU SHARE ANY INSIGHTS FROM YOUR R&D EXPERIENCES?
RS: Prototyping is the first step. We learn from our mistakes and iteratively build towards the problem statement. Upon delivering a PoC, we work through our initial assumptions and check whether the final design matches the customer’s intended value-addition to obviate technological risks down the line. Since we have experts in most of the areas we work in, we can fine-tune the list of assumptions to reduce the risk of the solution becoming unsuitable to the customer’s end goals.
IE: WHAT KPI do you USE TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF R&D EFFORTS?
RS: We measure success by accelerating customer time-to-market, quantified by the percentage reduction in R&D expenses.
IE: HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IN R&D?
RS: R&D has a crucial role to play in raising the level of development of a country, measured in terms of GDP per capita. Data compiled by Niti Aayog indicates a positive correlation between the two. While India’s R&D investments have increased tremendously in absolute terms doubling from Rs 60,000 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 120,000 crore in 2020-21 (DST data), it is still a modest figure when viewed vis-à-vis the country’s GDP growth (0.64% of GDP is gross expenditure on R&D in 2020-21) and with respect to its current GDP percapita. India’s R&D investments fall short of the historical R&D expenditure of other countries that were at similar developmental levels.
IE: HOW DOES INDIA’S R&D LANDSCAPE COMPARE INTERNATIONALLY?
RS: India’s R&D landscape has witnessed growth, however, it lags behind countries like China, the US, Japan and European nations. This is due to lower investments in the corporate sector that contributes only 37 per cent to Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD), contrasting this with two-thirds in developed economies. India has made significant strides in patent filings, ranking 6th globally in 2022 with 77,068 patents filed, a 25.2 per cent increase over the previous year. However, there’s a need to translate research outputs into viable commercial products and technologies. Despite possessing a large pool of skilled talents in STEM, organisations struggle to retain top talent and leverage their skills for R&D initiatives.
Sustainable efforts are required to increase both public and private sector investments in R&D to support long-term innovation and technology development programmes across industries. This involves creating state-of-the-art infrastructure, simplifying regulatory processes to protect IP rights, facilitating technology transfer and commercialisation and enhancing vocational training opportunities.
Increased collaboration between industry and academia is crucial. India has actively engaged in international research collaborations but needs to intensify efforts to foster partnerships with global universities, research institutes and corporations to leverage their expertise, knowledge and funding.
IE: HOW CAN THE GOVERNMENT INCENTIVIsE PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN R&D?
RS: India is projected to attract close to USD 170 billion in R&D investments by 2030, a significant increase from USD 46 billion in 2023. Software, automotive, and semiconductor sectors are expected to lead. India holds a competitive advantage over other emerging economies like Thailand, Vietnam and Bulgaria. However, aligning the patent system to favour more IP protections and enacting regulations against IP theft are urgent needs to encourage private players to allocate more of their budgets to new product development. Sustaining momentum involves providing design-linked incentives, showcasing R&D potential globally and attracting design work to Indian locations, especially in sectors like automotive, telecom, aerospace and consumer electronics.
India’s talent pool requires nurturing and growth, which can be achieved through curriculum revamping to include the latest technologies and industrial skills. Industrial partnerships, particularly with colleges in tier 2 and 3 cities and establishing centres of excellence in these locations can further enhance capabilities.
IE: WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF GLOBAL TRENDS ON INDIA’S R&D LANDSCAPE?
RS: Sustainability is increasingly becoming a key performance differentiator, with investments of USD 150-250 billion expected in sustainability-linked services and products by 2030. Solutions deploying AI/ML, IoT and cloud technologies for end-to-end energy and effluent management systems are emerging.
The digital economy is reshaping India’s R&D landscape, particularly in sectors like semiconductors, electronics and ICT. Government’s focus on digitalising social infrastructure and public administration will foster an ecosystem of startups modernising traditional sectors like agriculture and logistics. Digitalisation reduces product development lead times and costs while allowing greater personalisation, urging companies to invest in R&D for productivity gains.
IE: ARE THERE SPECIFIC SECTORS WHERE INDIA HAS UNTAPPED POTENTIAL FOR R&D-DRIVEN GROWTH?
RS: The challenges and complex nature of our country provides immense interest and potential for R&D driven growth across various sectors.
Healthcare & Pharma: Drug discovery, smart medical devices, seamless and tech driven healthcare delivery systems, personalised medicines can create innovation led growth not only within our country, but also a significant position for India in the global stage.
Life Sciences & Biotechnology: Biofuels, bioprocessing, genomics, proteomics, biopharmaceuticals, bioinformatics, bio-agriculture, healthcare diagnostics are significant fields that can lead to innovation and create societal impact and new growth avenues.
Renewable Energy: The abundant solar, wind and hydro resource availability in India makes it a rich field for technology research and investments. Innovations in the areas of grid integration, energy storage, wind turbines, solar photovoltaics can ascend India’s efforts towards creating a sustainable energy future.
Agriculture & Agri-tech: Innovations in agri-tech solutions, connected & precision farming solutions and crop improvement will create sustainable agriculture future for the country. Research in soil health, water management, farm mechanisation and agricultural biotechnology will help enhance food security, productivity and livelihoods in the rural areas.
Advanced Manufacturing: The robust manufacturing ecosystem makes it a potential hub for advanced manufacturing through R&D especially in areas such as industry 4.0, smart materials, robotics, etc.
Information Technology: Innovations in the areas of machine learning, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, smart devices, edge devices, cybersecurity can fuel economic growth and technology leadership.
Smart Cities: In urban planning, providing sustainable energy and transport solutions by creating smart and connected cities will help to address the urban challenges and improve life quality in the cities.
