Even as Indian IT services firms increase spending on research and development, their investments remain a fraction of those made by global technology peers, raising questions about whether the industry’s innovation budgets are keeping pace with the demands of the AI era.
Among Indian IT services companies, on a standalone basis, Infosys increased its research and development (R&D) expenditure to ₹1,093 crore in FY26, up from ₹850 crore in FY25. R&D spending accounted for 0.73 per cent of total revenue in FY26, compared with 0.62 per cent a year earlier, as per the company’s annual report.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported standalone R&D and innovation expenditure of ₹2,814 crore in FY26, representing 1.3 per cent of total turnover, compared with ₹2,546 crore, which was 1.2% of turnover in FY25. On a consolidated basis, the company spent ₹2,900 crore on R&D in FY26, equivalent to 1.1 per cent of turnover, up from ₹2,630 crore – 1.0 per cent of turnover in FY25.
TCS’s India research centres function in Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. The company's Pace Port and Pace Studio innovation hubs operate in Amsterdam, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Riyadh, Letterkenny, Sydney, Stockholm, and Manila.
