New Delhi, Dec. 18 -- The government has a $3-billion incentive plan to create electronics brands and boost private research spending on the sector. It aims to draw investments and generate business worth over $15 billion, for which research and development would be critical. Mint explains.

Why the hefty R&D spending?

What India does today is assemble devices at scale, for which research isn't vital. However, assembling operations typically have very little margins, and a significant part of it is earned by firms from China-leaving India with little value apart from being a market where access to labour is cheap. India can only move up the value chain when companies manufacture core components domestically, and also own patents for devi...