India has long been a global hub for technology services, but its growing engineering capabilities are opening up opportunities to develop products, create intellectual property (IP), and take ownership of innovation. As multinational companies expand their research and development (R&D) centres in the country, Indian teams are moving beyond executing assigned tasks to solving complex problems and building solutions for global markets.
At YourStory’s TechSparks 2026, Manu Saale, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India; Kalavathi GV, Executive Director and Head, Global Development Centre, Siemens Healthineers; Luigi Celmi, CEO, Lufthansa Systems India; shared their perspectives on how India’s global capability centres (GCCs) can move up the value chain. The discussion explored the importance of localising products, building domain expertise, and fostering a problem-solving mindset.
For Kalavathi, the shift begins with recognising that healthcare solutions cannot simply be transplanted from one market to another. “What works in the US does not work in India,” she said.
“Our mantra is: Medtech is global, but healthtech is local,” she said, explaining how healthcare solutions must account for differences in lifestyles, disease prevalence, affordability, and access to care.
Previously, companies often adapted products designed for developed markets by removing features to make them suitable for India. But this approach did not adequately address the country's diverse healthcare needs, which span private hospitals, government facilities, and district clinics.
Kalavathi said that affordability and accessibility became essential, along with the needs of both patients and healthcare providers. So, the company began working with Indian clinics, hospitals, and customers to develop solutions tailored to local healthcare needs. “We started co-creating some of the ideas along with the Indian customers,” she said.
One example is a C-arm imaging system that was conceptualised, designed and manufactured in India to address local needs. The product now serves 40 other markets and has an installed base of 1,400 units, she said.
The company has also expanded its engineering capabilities in the country, with around 50% of Siemens Healthineers' software professionals based in India, according to Kalavathi.
For Lufthansa Systems, meanwhile, India's established engineering ecosystem and advances in automation offer an opportunity to build on the capabilities already available within the Lufthansa Group. Although Lufthansa Systems established its India operations only recently, the wider group already has more than 1,000 employees in India across its operations.
“We don't feel that we pay the price to be late. We feel that we can benefit and take the advantage rather of being late,” said Celmi, the company's India CEO, pointing to advances in automation and established industry partnerships.
Bengaluru's expanding aviation and aerospace ecosystem is another draw. In a sector where reliability is critical, engineers must bring deep domain expertise and focus on validating changes. “Engineers spend more time validating changes rather than creating them,” Celmi said.
At Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, the evolution is from task-based execution to ownership of broader engineering challenges. While the car remains a global product, Manu Saale said, its head unit—the digital interface inside the vehicle—offers opportunities for customisation.
There was a time when India solved tasks based on what was told to them. Now is the time when India is asking, ‘What's the problem? Like, what's the big problem? Give me the big statement, and I try to solve it,’ he said.
Saale said this shift enables Indian teams to take responsibility for entire systems and subsystems rather than depend on daily instructions from global headquarters. As engineers accumulate product knowledge and systems expertise, they can engage with headquarters at a higher level and take ownership of more complex problem statements.
He also emphasised the need for India to move beyond its legacy of technology services and build products for domestic use and export markets. For him, the goal is not simply to connect different layers of technology but to develop the expertise needed to own the entire stack.
This ambition is reflected in the wider GCC ecosystem. Kalavathi cited Nasscom data indicating that 39% of GCCs in India are involved in product development, including product management, while around 9% are transformation hubs.
“We have reached a stage where, given the growth of the ecosystem, we can take ownership of complete products.”
Building original IP also requires companies to start with the problem they want to solve, rather than the technology they want to deploy. Kalavathi said organisations must draw on product expertise, clinicians, customer relationships, and partnerships with hospitals and startups to develop solutions that address unmet needs.
Saale echoed this view, emphasising that innovation begins when teams move from service-oriented thinking to identifying problems and developing solutions.