Good place to work for R&DThe good thingsInteresting R&D projects, especially the ones done in collaboration with the private sector. Lot of opportunities to learn new and emerging technologies. Scholarships for further studies are available too. All in all, if you are tech driven with a keen interest in Research/Technology, this is a good place to work. However, as always, this depends on the specific research institute, department, manager, project leaders that you may work under.
The challengesSalary needs to be bumped up to match private sector or at-least brought close to it. More collaborative projects with private sector would do good. For an R&D firm, the entrepreneurial output and support is lacking. Top management needs to do more to support those researchers who may have entrepreneurial ambitions. It also needs to inculcate an entrepreneurial spirit in R&D staff in general.