India’s paint industry is experiencing a widening research and development divide between companies capable of competing in premium, specialty, and export markets from those confined to commodity segments. Government programmes including the Technology Development Board and CIPET provide partial relief, but the gap between what small manufacturers can invest in formulation development and what large players spend remains structural.
What large players actually spend: Asian Paints disclosed R&D expenditure of approximately Rs 161 crore in FY2024 and Rs 10.2 crore in capital expenditure, as reported in the company’s Annual Report for FY2024. The company operates a dedicated research centre in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, housing chemistry, formulation scientists, and application testing laboratories. Berger Paints invested approximately Rs 38 to 45 crore in R&D in FY2024.
The competitive consequences: Small manufacturers are increasingly confined to white-label commodity products interior and exterior paints, basic primers, and economy segment where formulation differentiation is minimal and price is the primary competition axis. The most viable path for small manufacturers is not to compete with Asian Paints and Berger Paints on formulation strength, but to build regional distribution strength, focus on customer service quality, and achieve competitiveness in the economy segment while using government-supported testing facilities to maintain regulatory compliance without bearing the full internal cost.
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