Sector Snapshot · Engineering Services

India's Engineering R&D Services Market Scales Up

A fast-read primer on India's engineering R&D services sector — the backdrop against which we benchmark every company's cost structure in this category.

US$133.71 bn
Engineering R&D services market, 2025
US$217.90 bn
Projected market size by 2030
10.26%
CAGR, 2025-2030
US$116.67 bn
Engineering goods exports, FY25
US$122.43 bn
Engineering exports, FY26 (+4.86% YoY)

Revenue and Exports Are Both Climbing

The R&D services market has grown steadily, alongside consistently rising engineering exports.

Engineering R&D Revenue (US$ bn)

FY19 → FY22 → FY25

$36bn
FY19
$42bn
FY22
$63bn
FY25

Engineering Exports (US$ bn)

FY25 → FY26

$116.67bn
FY25
$122.43bn
FY26

What's Pushing the Sector Forward

Global demand, export strength, and a liberal policy regime define the category.

Global Demand
  • Engineering R&D services market to grow at 10.26% CAGR through 2030
Export Strength
  • Engineering exports grew 4.86% YoY to US$122.43bn in FY26
  • Telecom instrument exports up 36.24% YoY
Policy Support
  • De-licensed sector; 100% FDI under automatic route
  • Unrestricted technology transfer payments

Recent Developments

A sample of the industry-wide and policy moves shaping the sector through early 2026.

Companies We Benchmark in This Sector

Listed Indian Engineering Services companies in tDoBe's cost-benchmarking coverage.

Knowledge Marine
Dredging Corporation

The Cost Benchmark — What We Actually FoundtDoBe Think Report

The market facts above are public background. What follows is tDoBe's own work: every "Other Expenses" line from these companies' own financial records, read by hand and sorted into one clear set of categories — not a keyword search, not each company's own way of reporting it.

63.1%
tDoBe Average — Other Expenses as % of net revenue
1.7×
Gap between the highest and lowest company
13
Cost categories, sorted by meaning
24.2%
Biggest single category — Manpower Supply/Contract Labour
FY24/25
Latest available financial records

Where Companies Land — Total Other Expenses

Each mark is one company's total Other Expenses as % of net revenue. No company is named here.

63.1%
0%20%40%60%80%100%

tDoBe Average by Cost Category

Ranked from biggest to smallest.

Manpower Supply/Contract Labour
24.2%
Power & Fuel/Utilities
13.8%
Repairs & Maintenance
11.3%
Miscellaneous & Others
9.6%
Legal & Professional Fees
1.7%
Total Other Expenses
63.1%
Where the Cost Really Sits

Contract labour, energy, and equipment upkeep together make up the large majority of cost here — typical of capital-intensive marine and engineering-project work.

Why the Range Is So Wide

This is a small, closely-matched group of companies with genuinely similar businesses, so the range between them is narrower than in most sectors we measure.

Why the Comparison Is Fair

We use each company's own standalone financial records — not group numbers, not each company's own labels. Every cost line is read by hand and placed into one common set of categories, so every company is compared the same way.

See Where Your Own Company Stands

This is the free, sector-wide view. It tells you where Engineering Services stands as a whole — not where your own company stands against it, category by category, in rupees.

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$999
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$4,999
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A below-average number is a reason to call too — the benchmark keeps improving as we go.

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Compiled from public government and industry sources, February 2026 update · Figures rounded · tDoBe sector snapshot, for informational purposes · Cost Benchmark findings compiled from companies' own financial records, FY2024/25.