Lava plans to invest about Rs.100 crore this year to ramp up its R&D capabilities as it eyes a bigger share of the burgeoning Indian handset market. Lava plans to add another 7-8 handsets in the next few months. The company is eyeing revenues of Rs.1,500 crore this fiscal.
“It is very important to differentiate your products in a competitive market like India and that is where R&D also gains significance. We will invest Rs.100 crore during this fiscal to enhance our R&D capabilities. This expansion would be funded through internal accruals, but declined to give further details. The company has R&D facilities in Bangalore and China. Customers have now moved from the ultra-low cost handsets to more feature-rich devices. They are still price conscious, but are willing to pay a bit extra for features like internet, file sharing and music capabilities and that is where product innovation comes in,” Lava International Co-Founder & Director, S. N. Rai said.
