• Corporate innovation milestones: Anupam Rasayan transitioned to continuous flow chemistry and fluorination, Borosil Renewables developed antimony-free glass and reduced energy consumption to 1,200 kcal per kilogram of glass, and SAEL established 165 MW of paddy-straw waste-to-energy capacity.
• R&D investment levels: Borosil Renewables allocates roughly 3% of EBITDA to R&D, SAEL spends around 1% of revenue, and Anupam Rasayan employs nearly 100 scientists across two domestic R&D centers alongside targeted acquisitions like US-based Jayhawk.
• Government scheme impacts: Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and ambitious solar targets have enabled domestic manufacturers to scale capacities, improve internal rates of return, and better compete against lower Chinese production costs.
• Innovation ecosystem reforms: Panelists urged the Indian government to shift away from strict L1 lowest-cost bidding and adopt collaborative procurement frameworks—similar to China's subsidised rollout of heterojunction solar cells—by setting clear milestone targets and partnering with industry and academia.