Science and Technology in the Indian Business Sector: Status, Performance and Collaboration

Abstract

The role of private sector has increased in the overall economy of India. After 1990, Indian enterprises have emerged as a globally competitive in number of sector such as software, pharmaceuticals, metals, and auto part and components sectors. These enterprises are also involves in innovative activities and engaged in technology absorption and development. Global competitiveness of these enterprises has been strengthened by the innovation system created and evolved over time in India. The private sector has responded by investing extensively in R&D to upgrade itself on the technology value chain. In addition to internal R&D, these enterprises are also collaborating with other international firms to access their technology in order to fill their knowledge gaps. Many Indian enterprises have already formed alliances with international firms, which is enabling them to learn and absorb the latest technologies. These alliances positively impact knowledge creation and new product development. This has improved the innovative capacity of the firms as well as attracting foreign investments in science and technology ventures. This paper attempts to understand the status, performance and role of alliances in the technological development of Indian private sector. The paper has been divided in five sections. First section outlines the importance of private section and their growing importance. Section two looks at the overall National innovation system and the role of Indian Business Sector in the field of Science and Technology. Section three presents the performance of the top high technology industries, along with innovation, export and import, FDI, innovation strategies. Section four discusses the importance of technical collaborations with the help of the case study of the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector. Finally, the conclusions and suggestions have been outlined.