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Driving Innovation through R&D: The Rise of the LAB

Subrangshu Kumar Das, Senior Director & Head - ISDC
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Subrangshu Kumar Das, Senior Director & Head - ISDC
Headquartered in Gurgaon, Canon India is a leading technology innovator in the digital imaging space worldwide. The entity has pioneered in five technology 'imaging' engines - Optical Engine, Electrophotography, Bubble Jet, Semiconductors and Display which drives Canon's cutting-edge technology products.

The process of creating new products, processes and technologies that can be used and marketed for mankind's benefit today and in the coming years, is termed as Research and Development (R&D). R&D is a process of ideas, the search for ideas and their development towards progressive products and technology. Experts agree that research and development (R&D) is the backbone of a globally competitive, knowledge-driven economy. R&D investment leads to the development of products and services, which in turn drive growth, create jobs, and ultimately contribute towards the improvement of the society. Considering at Canon, our corporate philosophy is 'Kyosei', signifying 'living and working together for the common good', we believe in driving innovation through R&D in ways that complement the development of the society.

Speaking of the importance of R&D, I would like to share an observation that the importance of R&D to drive innovations is being acknowledged and worked upon. As per the latest report from U.S.-based HfS Research, India leads with 30 percent of the global engineering and R&D centers. NASSCOM, the Indian IT services industry body, said that engineering research and design's (ER&D) revenue contribution will touch $45 billion by 2020. The 'Make in India' program will continue to accelerate this trend, making India an attractive value proposition which enterprises can't ignore, the researchers believe.

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 major transformations that are leading to major shift in India's R&D making a mark on the global map.

The R&D processes and their costs vary from industry to industry, from country to country and from year to year. Speaking specifically of Asian companies, I can say that they look out for high growth markets and geographic benefits like proximity to manufacturers and suppliers. In fact, the 2016 Global R&D Funding Forecast quotes that Asian countries including China, Japan, India and South Korea experienced the most dramatic change in innovation spending, accounting for more than 40 percent of all global R&D investments, with North American investments now less than 30 percent and European R&D only slightly more than 20 percent.


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