Chennai, Sept. 23 -- India needs a more decentralised development model that takes R&D investment and sophisticated manufacturing beyond major cities to the district level, creating high-quality jobs in rural areas and reducing the need for young people to migrate to urban centres, Zoho Co-Founder and Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu said on Wednesday.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of Zoholics India 2026, Vembu said R&D-led employment and sophisticated small-scale manufacturing could play an important role in driving rural development.

"R&D jobs also can drive rural development by investing in sophisticated smaller scale manufacturing," he said.

Vembu further stressed the need for greater investment to build domestic capabilities acros...