Motorola Labs is actively looking at India to set up a research laboratory.

Motorola India Electronics managing director Soumitra Sana said: "We are in discussions with our headquarters to set up the lab in India. In the past 12 years of our presence in India, we have built up extensive capabilities in the India centre. We have to unlock this potential. Motorola Labs will be a suitable unit to carry forward our skill sets."

The coming of Motorola Labs to India will certainly add to the galaxy of already existing high-end research outfits of GE, IBM and HP.

"Today Motorola Labs has a strong, global team of scientists, engineers and technicians focused on discovering and developing new material, technologies, architecture, algorithms and processes for smarter devices and systems.

"Motorola Labs has developed a portfolio of significant, highly co-ordinated, strategic research programs and leadership technology in areas such as semiconductor materials and memories, communication technologies from 2.5 to 4G, multimedia, security and privacy, microminiaturisation, human experience, the Internet and more," said Sana.

As a precursor to this lab, Motorola is moving into a new $13 million campus of its own to house its 1200 engineers who will be working on the product development cycles of the company.

The multinational has focussed labs dealing with advanced consumer systems, communications research, advanced technology, software and Internet research, network research lab, physical research and solid state research centres.