Booming Foreign Direct Investment in R&D

Internationalisation of research and development (R&D) is now taking place at a good pace, specifically through the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the R&D sector. The dissemination of FDI in R&D from developed countries to emerging and developing economies also facilitates faster transfer of techno­logy. In recent decades, along with FDI in manufacturing and services, FDI in R&D also reported a hike worldwide. India is not an exception from this scenario. ­According to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India witnessed a massive sixfold jump in FDI in R&D in 2021 compared to the previous calendar year. It recorded a $344 million flow of FDI in R&D to India in 2021. The policymakers expect that the more significant flow of R&D-intensive FDI can supplement dome­stic technology and skills, accelerating economic growth and development.

R&D plays a significant role in the overall development of a knowledge-based economy, which can also accelerate economic growth. Similarly, FDI in R&D is considered the plausible driver of innovation in emerging and developing economies, explicitly facilitating access to foreign technology, skill development, and higher productivity (Damijan et al 2003). Given this scenario, the Government of India also initiated specific measures (FDI into R&D for Atmanirbhar Bharat) to scale up FDI in R&D and aimed to $500 million by 2022. These measures proposed (i) possible amendment of consolidated FDI policy by emp­hasis­ing FDI in R&D for all sectors, (ii) making sectoral policies, namely electronic policies, communication policies, and software policies, include specific reference to innovation and R&D, (iii) encouraging state governments, in their sectoral policies, to consider the provisions related to FDI in R&D, (iv) having special clauses related to FDI in R&D inclu­ded in various foreign trade agreements, etc. A reflection of these propo­sals is visible in the statistics of FDI in R&D in the recent years. During 2014–19, India ranked as the second propitious destination for greenfield FDI projects in R&D.