Syngenta, the Switzerland-based $7.4 billion agri business major, is setting up a research and development facility in India.

The unit, which is being set up in Goa, will be an integral part of the foreign major's R&D platform, spread in Switzerland, UK and US. Nearly 200 scientists will work at this unit. The move is significant since many agri business companies are expected to follow suit. The attraction is that India has implemented product patent and that R&D work here would cost only one-fifth of the cost in developed countries. Global majors in the business include BASF and Bayer.

Pradip K Mazumdar, director, Syngenta, said the construction of the facility was under way. The foundation stone was laid on last Wednesday.

He said the unit was expected to draw a good portion of the company's total expenditure on research and technology development. Syngenta spends 10 per cent of its total revenue of R&D, amounting to Rs 9 crore (Rs 90 million), a day on R&D.

"Syngenta proposes to build synthetic chemistry units and the large-scale synthesis team will be fully integrated with worldwide operations. The Goa facility will have flexibility for expansion in future," he said.

Industry experts said other foreign companies would not only set up own R&D facilities here once the patent on data gets approved, but would also outsource research from India. They said high level representatives of some Swiss companies had come to Mumbai to explore the possibility of outsourcing R&D. Mazumdar said the country has a huge pool of scientists working in institutes such as CSIR and ICAR.

A team headed by a government official is working on a report on data protection. It will soon submit its recommendations to the department of industrial policy and planning, which comes under the commerce and industry ministry.

Copyright by Syngenta International AG
Kausik Datta