India Rising as a Hub for R&D Activities for International Players

With the waves of technology and innovation making ingress into every nook and corner of the healthcare sector and its subsectors, it has become a necessity for the industry to indulge in extensive R&D activities. The global rise of technology and innovation in the healthcare sector have brought forward a huge arena for international players to compete and innovate in. Therefore, large organizations are pursuing research and innovation at every step possible to gain recognition, not only locally but also globally. As the need for innovation increases, international firms target the Indian healthcare sector as a viable destination for their R&D activities. As a result, India is shifting from a locus of low-cost contract research to a global hub of highly-valued R&D projects.

India,asone of the rising economies, unleashed by liberalization in regulations, is becomingan increasingly important center of innovation among global investors. Adding to that, multinational companies that are rapidly expanding their global presence are looking forward to locating their advanced R&D operations in India. Moreover, the market size of the Indian healthcare industry renders more opportunities for international players to consider it an attractive location to expand operations. As a result, India is rising as an international R&D activities hub for foreign players, drawing on the highly trained healthcare professionals in the country.

Why R&D?

Healthcare R&D stands for Research and Development in healthcare innovation and practices. It includes creative work undertaken systematically to increase stock knowledge, along with the knowledge of culture, society, and individuals to devise new applications for the sector. In today’s world, R&D has become an integral part of corporate firms as the need for new product designs and developments to existing practices are on the rise. As a result, more and more firms are investing in R&D activities to enhance future performance and to withstand the competition in the long-run.

Having a well-established healthcare industry, with lower R&Dcosts and adequate availability of highly qualified workforce, India is becoming a suitable place for outsourcing and contract-based research in the healthcare industry.

Pharmaceutical and Healthcare R&D

The Indian healthcare industry is burgeoning in recent years with the emergence of many new technologies and innovations. In the coming years, the R&D activities based in India are sure to witness a steep rise, leading global R&D teams from across the world to India and enabling the nation to maintain the leadership position globally. No doubt, the R&D sector in Indian healthcare is all set to witnessrobust growth in the upcoming years, thanks to the increasing government support and talented pool of health professionals.

Particularly the pharmaceutical sector, having annual revenues of USD21.7billion, is expected to create huge opportunities for international players who are looking for a prospective R&D destination. Today, India accounts for more than 25 percent of the world’s generic drug productionand has the highest number of FDA-approved productionfacilities in the world. In those lines, India is considered a potential R&D destination for the pharmaceutical industry, mainly for its high intellectual base and low-cost R&D. Adding to that, the comparative advantage of Indian firms in patent filing and the public-private partnership trend is increasing the R&D activities of international players in India.

One of the primary reasons for seeking India as a hub for R&D activities is its low-cost, talented pool of workforce, who are highly capable of handling knowledge-based research. Most of the academic institutions in India like IIHMR collaborate with government and top industry players to perform advanced R&D, thus generating highly qualified and talented students who are equipped to handle research activities adeptly. Moreover, the liberalized government policies are an added advantage for the international players as they get fiscal incentives for their R&D activities on equal terms, irrespective of domestic or international origin. The government is also investing huge sums in setting up dedicated R&D centers in the healthcare domain, raising the country’s position in the global arena.

The role of health professionals in R&D is indispensable and keeping that in mind, IIHMR, Delhi, one of the premier institutions of healthcare management education in India, is striving to produce some of the topperformers in the field. At IIHMR,we focus on delivering quality healthcare education, using a cutting-edge curriculum, experienced faculty, and research-based academic excellence so as to help the students get a deep-seated understanding of the healthcare industry.

We, at IIHMR, have continued to expand our focus on research and development programs in the health sector. In the area of research, IIHMR has been contributing a lot to the development of health policies, strategies, evaluation, and generation of new knowledge in the domain.Students are given adequate exposure to research and development activities so that they are well-trained to innovate and develop initiatives for a better future. Over the years, we, at IIHMR, Delhi, haveexpanded the nature and scope of our research studies, generating trained health professionals who are industry-ready to create an impact.

Overall,IIHMR has been working to deliver quality management education and academic excellenceby establishing strong managerial skills, technical know-how, and research-oriented training to enable the aspirants to excel in the domain.