Thanks to India's emergence as a hot destination for contract research solutions and growth of the research activities in Indian labs, the analytical equipment market in India is likely to grow at a rate of 15-20 per cent in the coming years.

The market for analytical equipment solutions in India is estimated to the tune of above Rs.2000 crore in various institutions related to laboratories, pharma and biotech sector, clinical research, environmental, metallurgy, universities, petrochemicals, nuclear research etc. The market has been growing at a rate of 10 to 12 per cent for the last three years. Considering the emerging clinical research segment in India and the growth of industries in the areas of pharma and biotech and petrochemical sectors and demand for environment related solutions, this growth is likely to become a minimum of 15 to 20 per cent in the coming years, says Dr.Ashis Ganguly, secretary of Indian Analytical Instruments Association.

"Analytical equipment business is no longer a localized activity involving domestic players. It has become a global business assisted with high-end technology. Micro analysis and image analysis are some of the new trends happening in this industry which require high quality precision manufacturing capabilities and technology know-how" notes Ganguly.

Eyeing the potential, many leading players have already integrated India as part of their global agenda and all the top ten leading global companies have set up offices in India. While most of these companies were operating through distributors until a few years ago, now most have own subsidiaries to run Indian business. This includes companies like Thermo, Fisher, Waters, Agilent, Sartorius, Shimadsu and niche players like Dionex (liquid chromatography) etc. As a result these multinational companies have cornered more than Rs.1000 crore business in the domestic market. However, some of the Indian companies have emerged as reputed global players in the field of specialty areas like gas chromatography, Ph meters etc.

Indian Analytical Instruments Association has about 80 members at present and the membership is likely to become 100 soon, says Dr.Ganguly.

Inability of the Indian manufacturers to invest heavily for high-end technologies and on R&D is the reason why most of the Indian manufacturers are keeping a low profile, notes industry sources.