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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe 20-company sample examined by The Economic Times spent an average of 0.9% of sales on research and development in FY2025-26, up from 0.5% five years earlier. That increase does not describe every Indian consumer company: the sample spans fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), automobiles and electronics, and much of the rise came from automakers and electronics makers.
What the 0.9% figure measures
The Economic Times analysis covered 20 large companies, selecting the top two or three players by market share in each category. Its named examples include Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Britannia, Nestle, Asian Paints, Tata Consumer Products, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, Samsung Electronics India and LG Electronics India. The figures were compiled from company annual reports and filings with India’s Registrar of Companies.
For this analysis, R&D spending includes research expenses and capital expenditure incurred for research activities. The reported average is a selected-company, cross-sector ratio of R&D spending to sales—not a census of Indian consumer firms or a measure of all research in India.
A spending ratio does not establish the quality of research, whether it produced successful products or patents, or where the intellectual property and product-development work are owned. Company-level comparisons also depend on consistent fiscal years and definitions, and on whether the figure covers an Indian subsidiary or its global parent.
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How company figures compare
The Economic Times reported the following company figures for FY2025-26 or the comparison period it described. The figures are not directly comparable without accounting for differences in business mix and reporting scope.
| Company | Reported R&D spending or intensity | What the figure shows |
|---|---|---|
| ITC | 0.2% of sales in FY2025-26, down from 0.3% in FY2020-21; Rs 213 crore in the last fiscal year referenced | The ratio declined, even though the reported budget was a substantial absolute amount. |
| Britannia | Around 0.26–0.27% of sales across the comparison period | Broadly flat. |
| Tata Consumer Products | About 0.25% of sales | Broadly stagnant. |
| Asian Paints | Around 0.4% of sales | Broadly stagnant. |
| Samsung Electronics India | Rs 37 crore against sales of Rs 1.12 lakh crore in FY2025-26 | A local subsidiary’s reported spending; it does not represent the parent company’s global R&D. |
| LG Electronics India | Rs 125 crore against revenue of Rs 24,605 crore in FY2025-26 | A local subsidiary’s reported spending. |
| Hyundai Motor India | Rs 68 crore against sales of Rs 68,990 crore in FY2025-26 | A company-specific amount and sales base. |
| Hindustan Unilever | Rs 164 crore against revenue above Rs 61,975 crore in FY2025-26 | The source gives revenue as above Rs 61,975 crore, not an exact denominator. |
These examples help explain why a group average can rise while several prominent FMCG and consumer companies remain flat or report lower R&D intensity: the sectors and companies do not move together.
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Why the sales ratio needs context
Dixon Technologies executive chairman Sunil Vachani told The Economic Times that R&D spending needs to increase as India and its industries develop into a products nation while exports grow. He also cautioned that turnover is not always a sound basis for comparing R&D intensity because some turnover is pass-through. That caveat matters, but it does not make the ratio useless: it means readers should interpret it alongside absolute spending and the underlying business.
For a fairer comparison, check whether companies use the same fiscal year and R&D definition; separate research expense from capitalised research investment; identify the reporting entity; and consider sector and turnover mix. A manufacturer that records large pass-through sales can appear to have a low R&D share even when its spending is not directly comparable with a company whose revenue structure differs.
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The Economic Times reported modest R&D expenses relative to revenue at some Indian electronics subsidiaries. The article also relayed an unnamed senior executive at a global electronics company saying that a parent may seek higher profits from India rather than fund substantial new-product development there. That is an attributed observation, not evidence about every multinational or Indian subsidiary.
The article noted that core product development may take place overseas and software costs may be recorded in separate subsidiaries. As a result, a local company’s R&D line may not capture all work connected to products sold in India. Conversely, global parent spending cannot automatically be treated as research performed in India. The reporting entity and location of the work both matter.
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How this compares with wider industry and policy ambitions
The Economic Times reported that a BCG-CII report found India’s top 10 listed consumer-durables companies invest less than 1% of revenue in R&D, compared with 1–4% among global peers. This is a comparison reported by The Economic Times from the BCG-CII report; CII’s public announcement of the report does not itself state those percentages.
CII and BCG’s September 2026 report announcement projected that India’s consumer-durables market could grow 8–10% annually through 2030, reaching Rs 3–3.25 lakh crore. It also projected an incremental Rs 40,000–50,000 crore domestic value-add opportunity across materials and conversion over five years. These are forecasts, not measured outcomes. The announcement identified technology partnerships, capability-building, scaled component manufacturing, stronger R&D and product innovation, AI-led productivity improvements and predictable regulation as possible enablers; it also pointed to technology access and scale economics as localisation barriers.
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For national context, The Economic Times put India’s overall R&D expenditure at around 0.65% of GDP and described a government objective to raise it above 1%. It also reported a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund intended to catalyse private-sector R&D and deep-tech development. These are policy ambitions and reported context; the figures here do not establish the fund’s implementation, eligibility, application rules or disbursements.
What consumers and investors can reasonably infer
The sample average shows an increase in reported R&D intensity over five years, but it does not prove that innovation has increased at the same rate. Nor does a low ratio alone establish that a company is failing to innovate: research may be carried out elsewhere in a group, recorded under a different entity or difficult to compare because of the sales denominator.
For an individual company, treat R&D intensity as one indicator. Read it alongside absolute spending, the trend over several years, the company’s reporting scope and any disclosed product-development outcomes. For comparisons across businesses, use the same definition and fiscal-year basis, and avoid ranking unlike companies on the percentage alone.
Sources: The Economic Times, October 3, 2026; CII announcement of the CII-BCG report, September 24, 2026.
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