Faced with a fast-changing technology scenario, central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) are aggressively investing in applied research and development (R&D) projects to improve their efficiency and keep up with competition.

Leading the pack in terms of cutting-edge work in the area are cash-rich companies like BHEL, Power Grid, Indian Oil, Steel Authority as well as defence PSUs.

For example, power equipment maker BHEL made the highest-ever expenditure of Rs 1,252 crore, or nearly 2.5% of its turnover, on R&D initiatives in the previous fiscal 2012-13. The company filed 385 patents and copyrights during the year, increasing its intellectual capital by 10%. BHEL was the highest spender on R&D in India for its kind of industry during the year. According to it, products and systems developed by the company through in-house R&D contributed about 20% to the company?s total turnover of Rs.50,156 crore in 2012-13.

CPSEs have roped in academic institutions like IIT. For example, Power Grid is planning to undertake an R&D project on superconductivity. If the experiment proves successful, it can change the whole landscape of the power transmission and distribution business. A superconductor, or a resistance-less wire can carry much higher flow of power without any technical loss.

?The company is currently preparing feasibility report for the superconductivity project. Based on that, a pilot project will be undertaken. If that proves successful, it will pave the way for commercial application of the technology,? a senior Power Grid official told FE. The company has successfully commissioned a 1,200 kv sub-station in Bina, Madhya Pradesh, which it took up as a pilot project.

Steel major SAIL too is spending a lot of money on R&D projects to reduce its costs of production, besides developing new products for the market. The company is focusing on critical areas like improving energy of its manufacturing process and on finding ways to convert to economically useful product wastes such as slag and sludge produced in the manufacturing process. The company filed 35 patents and an equal number of copyrights in 2012-13 besides developing 24 new products.

SAIL looks at the cost economics of its R&D projects in terms of how much financial benefits accrue to the company from implementation of new process. ?Our R&D efforts are focused on new product development, energy efficiency, reduction in cost of production and improving waste utilisation. We quantify our R&D efforts in financial terms,?SAIL chairman CS Verma told FE.

NTPC is undertaking R&D projects in areas like improving operational efficiency of its power plants, reduction of emission levels for coal-based generation and development of technology to convert municipal waste into energy.

Through internal R&D efforts, Indian Oil has recently developed a new technology that would make it possible to produce bio-diesel along with petroleum diesel in a conventional refinery, doing away with the need to have a separate plant. The new technology is expected to the company reduce costs of bio-diesel. Quality of bio-diesel produced by using this method is also of superior quality and so no major tweaking of automobile engine configuration is required.

Technology can give a new lease of life to the matured oil and gas fields by improving the recovery factor. In India, even in producing fields the recovery factor is in the range of 25-33% while fields in North Sea or in Gulf of Mexico of same vintage have recovery factors of over 40%. Secondary and tertiary recovery technologies now boast of a recovery factor of 60% to 75%. Given the critical significance of technology to its operations, ONGC is also undertaking R&D projects through research institutions set up and funded by the company.

According to BHELsources, the company’s R&D efforts are mostly aimed at improving the performance and efficiency of existing products, and also developing new products using state-of-the-art technologies and processes. The focus is to remain contemporary both in terms of technology and features vis-?-vis global benchmarks.

R&D and technology development are of strategic importance to the company as it operates in a competitive environment where technology is a major factor. BHEL’s long term R&D programme focuses on emerging technology areas such as clean coal technologies; nano technology; hydrogen energy technologies; superconducting applications and solar technologies and products & systems for ultra-high voltage transmission segment for addressing the country?s future demands.

Defence PSUs are also investing hugely in R&D projects. Bharat Electronics (BEL) led the pack of defence PSUs by spending 8% of its turnover on R&D in 2011-12. It was followed by HAL which spent 7.62%, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd 2.39%, Bharat Dynamics 1.51%, Goa Shipyard 0.75 and Mishra Dhatu Nigam 0.8%.