Noted consumer electronics company Havells India is reportedly planning to expand its R&D base in India. They are to invest over ₹1,500 crore over the period of next five years and use this money to create and design better products, especially the realm of the internet of things.

Anil Rai Gupta, chairman and managing director at Havells India, told a newspaper that the company would set up a cutting-edge research and development lab in Bengaluru to focus on IoT. They will employ at least 100 fresh engineers and researchers for the same, he added.

“We have an R&D team of 250 engineers in Bengaluru focused on IoT applications. We will be adding at least 100 more engineers,” Gupta said.

According to a report in a national daily, Havells India will spend ₹360 crore on an  AC manufacturing unit under brand Lloyd in Ghilot, Rajasthan. It will reportedly be operational by March 2019 and will have a capacity of about six lakh units per year.

Gupta was also ecstatic about the fact that after the challenges faced over the last few years, especially after demonetisation and GST, things have finally settled down. He added that the company logged 25 per cent growth in the first six months of the current fiscal.