Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market in India, 2024

The increasing adoption of UAV technology spans multiple sectors, including military and defense, where UAVs play crucial roles in surveillance, intelligence gathering, and tactical operations. Additionally, UAVs find extensive applications in the commercial and civil domains, such as infrastructure inspection, agriculture, mapping, filmmaking, and logistics.

Market insights:

The industry is highly fragmented in terms of market competition, with several unorganized players comprising over 90% of the market. The Indian government's initiatives, including 'Make in India' and the 'Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme,' are fostering the growth of new startups in the UAV market. For instance, the FY 2022-2023 budget introduced the 'Drone Shakti' scheme to support startups in the Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS) sector, along with the announcement of skill development courses in select ITIs across all states.

Market segment:

The fixed-wings market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of ~18.43% during the 2023- 2028e period. Due to their advantages in long-range operations, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, fixed-wing UAVs are anticipated to secure a significant share of the market's growth. Prominent players in this segment include DroneAcharya and Alpha Design Technologies. Major application areas for fixed-wing UAVs include surveillance and monitoring, mapping, and surveying, as well as long-distance logistics and delivery.

Market drivers:

Initiatives undertaken by the Indian government such as Start-up India, and Industry 4.0 have incentivized technology-based start-ups, software firms, and manufacturing companies to incorporate technology, including UAVs in their daily processes, to increase accuracy, flexibility, productivity, and efficiency. The Indian ecosystem for smart industries is not as prominent as compared to developed nations, however, it is developing with improving technology and digital infrastructure. The budgetary resources allocated by the government entices businesses to support the growth and implementation of cutting-edge technologies including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things, which will support the UAV implementation in various sectors in the country.

Key market trends:

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is widely used to collect data on different surfaces and construct a 3D model. UAVs equipped with LiDAR have applications in 3D modeling, disaster management, urban planning, airport facility surveys, and volumetric measurements. The high-resolution imagery and LiDAR data collected by drones are also being used to create digital replicas or twins of physical assets, infrastructure, or environments.