Research and development expenditure is a prerequisite for driving business growth. Tata Motors has been spending the highest sum on research and development expenditure in FY24 and FY25 among Nifty 100 companies. Among sectors, autos and pharma lead.
A businessline analysis of the annual reports of Nifty 100 companies reveals that Tata Motors spent ₹29,398 crore on R&D in FY24, recording a growth of 45 per cent over the amount spent in FY23 of ₹20,265 crore. The company’s R&D facilities work on areas spanning mobility solutions and alternative fuel technologies, from battery-electric to CNG, LNG, Hydrogen Fuel Cell and hydrogen-based ICE technologies.
The next company in the top R&D spenders’ list — Reliance Industries – has spent just ₹3,643 crore under this head in FY24; which is 87 per cent lower than Tata Motors’ spending. The company’s R&D focus is on decarbonising its operations and to shift from fossil fuel to sustainable and cleaner energy sources such as green hydrogen. Sun Pharma was the other top R&D spender, which focused on Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and novel drug delivery systems.
The top companies in terms of R&D spending as a percentage of revenue from operations in FY24 were companies like Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (10.8 per cent), Hindustan Aeronautics (9.3 per cent), and Tata Motors (6.7 per cent).
Out of the 100 Nifty companies, only 56 disclosed their R&D spending in their annual reports. It is not applicable to many sectors such as BFSI and some companies did not spend on research.
It is comforting to note that PSUs are also taking R&D seriously. Among the Nifty 100 companies, 10 are Public Sector Undertakings, and 8 of them spent more than ₹100 crore on R&D in FY24. Hindustan Aeronautics led the spending with ₹2,826 crore, followed by Bharat Electronics at ₹1,188 crore and Indian Oil Corporation at ₹946 crore.
The automobile sector accounted for 58 per cent of total R&D expenses among the Nifty 100 companies, while the healthcare sector contributed 13 per cent.
