Tata Group, India's biggest business house, on Friday announced its decision to hike its spending on research & development (R&D) in the coming years.

The salt-to-software conglomerate is currently spending nearly US$2 billion per year on R&D. the company's R&D spending accounts for around 2 per cent of the conglomerate's total annual revenue.

Mukund Rajan, brand custodian & spokesperson for Tata Group, announced, "I hope with the focus which has been created on innovation and customer centricity, this number (spending) will increase in the years two come."

Rajan pointed out that Indian companies are spending far less on innovation activities than the countries like United Sates and China.

In the last financial year, Tata Group companies from across the globe introduced a total of 1,305 innovations that the group claims accrued huge benefits to the group companies.

In 2007, Tata Sons division TQMS created the Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF) to encourage and inspire a culture promoting innovation in the conglomerate.

Tata Group's turnover crossed US$100 billion (nearly Rs 550,000cr) in the financial year of 2012-13.