India's attempt to sell itself as an R&D hub for IT is falling flat due to increased costs and staff shortages.

According to AP, the cost advantage of India as a hub is fading and engineers trained in basic research are harder to find. Indian R&D units cost 20 percent more than the year before and will soon match the cost of U.S. operations where the dollar is also weak.

There is also a shortage of qualified workers, and wages jumped about 15 percent as companies fought to hire and retain hard-to-find engineers skilled in research.

More here.