Technology and Indian industry: what is liberalization changing?

Innovation and new product introductions in emerging markets: Strategic recommendations for the Indian market

“…For decades before the 1980s, Indian businesses made limited attempts to develop technologically sophisticated products or to invest in innovation. Government R&D expenditure accounted for most of the research spending in India and technology imports or reverseengineering accounted for most of the new product introductions (Forbes, 1999). However, since liberalization in the early 1990s, Indian firms started investing more in R&D and have turned to in-house sources for innovation and new product development (Forbes, 1999).…”

Structural Reform and Firm Exports

“…For example, Amann and Nixson (1999) find that productivity and technology levels in Brazil improved, while imports remained low after the liberalization of the steel sector. Forbes (1999) argues that Indian firms responded to liberalization by increasing internal R&D, importing more advanced technology, and improving efficiency. Dedrick et al (2001) find that computer use increased and prices dropped in Mexico and Brazil after deregulation.…”

“…Empirical analyses show an inconclusive picture. Some single-country studies find that firms improve after structural reform (e.g., Amann/Nixson 1999, Forbes 1999, Dedrick et al 2001, Katrak 2002, Rishi/Saxena 2004, but other studies do not find such improvements (e.g., Salim 2003, Das 2004.…”

Indian Multinationals in the Automotive and the Pharmaceutical Sectors: Competitive Advantages and Strategies

“…As regards the latter, while during the colonial period such companies were virtually absent, but for exports of formulations, they entered directly on the field after the Indian independence, when they started establishing some units first for the packaging operations of imported formulations, afterward for the manufacturing of medications with imported ingredients and later they began the local production ofat least part of -the ingredients they needed (Chaudhuri, 2004). Starting from the 1970s, to face the paradox that a very poor country like India experienced drug prices among the highest in the world, several initiatives were taken by the government, first of all a reform of the IPRs regime: the Indian Patent Act of 1970, the "most conscious attempt among developing countries (...) to improve terms for accessing international intellectual property" (Forbes, 1999). According to this regulation, pharmaceutical products were not patentable in India, while the protection granted by patents on pharmaceutical processes could not last more than 7 years.…”