India Can Become a Low-Cost Producer of Humanoids
At $16,500, humanoid production cost in India is estimated to be 73 per cent lower than US models with cost around $55,000 -$60,000
Chennai: India can emerge as a manufacturing hub of humanoids with production cost 73 per cent lower than the US and become a key player in the $230 billion global market for robots and humanoids by 2030, finds a study. DeepTech market in India, which is expected to triple by 2030, is currently driven by the defence sector.
At $16,500, humanoid production cost in India is estimated to be 73 per cent lower than US models with cost around $55,000 -$60,000. India’s lower cost of production is driven by efficient local integration and low-cost labour, finds RedSeer Consultancy. Of this, Mobility and actuation account for 70 per cent of total Bill of Materials cost.
India’s cost on humanoid’s Vision System, Rotary Actuator Integration, Heat Management System, Dexterous Hand, AI Chip, AI Computing, Linear Actuator Integration, and Battery is significantly lower compared to that in the US.
The market for robotic machines is set to surge 3-4 times to $230 billion globally by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 15–17 per cent. India will benefit from labour cost advantage and PLI-led automation.
Of this, humanoids is a breakout category valued $10–11 billion globally by 2030. The main market for humanoids will be the US, Europe, and China. The US and China would account for the largest chunk of the market followed by Europe. India will have just 3-4 per cent of the market by 2030. The adoption of humanoids will be led by manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, healthcare, automotive, agriculture and defence.
Defence sector is already driving the DeepTech market in India and is expected to contribute to the growth of the sector from $9-12 billion to $27-33 billion by 2030. India’s defence budget doubled to $80 billion in a decade, growing by 7–8 per cent CAGR.
Within this, Defence DeepTech alone is expected to scale from $6 billion today to $10-12 billion by 2030, fuelled by AI systems, drones, radar, and energy technologies.
AI is driving autonomy, predictive threat detection, and advanced decision support across multiple domains. Growing ecosystem of domestic players is scaling defence-grade AI solutions. India is set to fastrack Rs 20,000 crore 87 MALE drone projects for defence forces. Drone sector is evolving rapidly, driven by indigenization, intelligence, and a growing component ecosystem. The demand for ISR and attack drones are estimated to grow exponentially.
Further, investments are being made in indigenous radar, sensors, and integration software for layered air defence Energy technologies. The strong push for next-gen batteries to power drones and mobility and development of battlefield microgrids and fuel cells are powering energy technologies.