New Delhi, Aug 20 - India's exports can only be sustained if large and small companies designed globally competitive products, said a global innovative solutions provider here Thursday.

'The product may be best in technology but it must also look good. For organisations to be successful, they will have to focus on research and development for innovative designs,' said Kumar Bhattacharyya, founder of the Britain-based Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), at a function here.

Bhattacharyya was speaking at a chief executives' roundtable organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

WMG, part of the University of Warwick, provides innovative solutions to industry through research, education and collaboration.

Maintaining that India must be recognised for its own products and not just for products manufactured in India, Bhattacharyya said: 'Designers must think in line with business people and create like artists. Design includes all aspects of the products,' he said.

He also referred to China, which had 'very low exports' in 1998, but was today a key exporter worldwide. 'India lags much behind China,' Bhattacharyya said.