FAST India Releases Sectoral Brief Highlighting R&D Disparities in Indian Energy Sector

FAST India, in collaboration with IIFL Securities, has unveiled its latest sectoral brief on the Energy sector as part of its series on the State of Industrial Research and Development (R&D) in India. This comprehensive report provides a detailed analysis of R&D trends, innovation outputs, and performance metrics of major Indian energy firms, benchmarking them against their global counterparts.

Key Findings:

1. R&D Intensity:
   • Indian energy firms, including Coal India, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), feature prominently in R&D intensity rankings, with Coal India leading at 3.8%. However, global energy firms exhibit 2.5 times higher R&D intensity compared to their Indian counterparts. PetroChina ranks second globally with an R&D intensity of 0.9%.
2. Proportion of PhD Employees:
   • Indian energy firms lag significantly behind global peers in terms of PhD employees, with global firms boasting a 4-fold higher proportion. Equinor leads globally with 2.07% PhD employees, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) ranks first among Indian firms and 8th overall.
3. Publications:
   • Indian energy firms excel in publication rates, surpassing global firms by 1.1 times in publications per billion USD revenue. Coal India tops the list with over 3.4 times the publications of the second-ranked Tata Power. NHPC Limited is fourth in this category. RIL and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) lead in absolute publication numbers, with 262 and 218 publications, respectively.
4. Patent Output:
   • Indian firms show a notable shortfall in patent output, producing 9.9 times fewer patents per billion USD revenue compared to global firms. Although Reliance Industries Limited performs relatively well among Indian firms, it does not feature in the top global rankings.

Conclusion: The report underscores the Indian energy sector’s gradual shift towards renewable energy and improved efficiency in fossil fuel use. Despite strong performance in R&D intensity and publication rates, Indian firms face challenges in proportion of PhD employees and patent output. The findings highlight a critical need for enhanced focus on innovation and intellectual property to better align with global standards.