India CAD Software Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024-2030)

India CAD Software Market Trends & Drivers

Surging Preference for Subscription-Based CAD Software Is a Key Trend

• The rapid consumer shift toward subscription-based CAD software from the perpetual licensing model is a key trend being observed in the Indian CAD software market.
• High costs are associated with the traditional CAD software licensing model, due to which small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which generally have low IT budgets, often find it difficult to integrate the software into their work processes.
• Since SMEs account for more than 90% of the registered companies in India and they are also witnessing faster growth than large enterprises, market players are increasingly focusing on offering subscription-based CAD software, to cater to the growing customer base.
• For instance, PTC Inc. and Autodesk Inc. have shifted their focus to the subscription-based model, to offer customers new ways of aligning the software with their business needs, with additional benefits of low-cost trials and multiple-machine/device access.
• This would also enable start-up companies to take quarterly or yearly licenses and analyze how the model works for them and, subsequently, invest in the long-term licensing model.

Rapid Growth of the Construction Industry

• The growth in the country’s construction sector is one of the major factors positively impacting the Indian CAD software market.
• This is mainly due to factors such as the increasing government initiatives to facilitate infrastructure development and surging foreign direct investment (FDI).
• The construction industry is recording notable growth in the demand for CAD software, to facilitate precise designs and accurate measurements, spot design flaws, and conduct advanced analysis of the designs.
• Some of the advantages offered by CAD software to construction managers are a better visualization of designs, reduced chances of error, faster completion of projects, and higher project efficiency and accuracy.
• Thus, with the growth in infrastructure, the demand for CAD software is expected to further rise in the country during the forecast period.

Availability of Free and Open-Source CAD Software Coupled with Software Piracy

• The increasing availability of open-source and free versions of CAD software is one of the major factors affecting the growth of the market.
• Due to the high cost of CAD software, many providers are rolling out free versions of their offerings to reach out to large customers.
• Such free and open-source products are widely being used by individuals, small-scale industries, and SMEs that have limited budgets for designing tools. This, however, is affecting the adoption of licensed CAD software, which, in turn, is restraining the market growth.
• In addition to this, CAD software companies across the globe are facing a major threat from the unmonitored and increasing use of unlicensed CAD software solutions, which is further resulting in high revenue losses.
• The high cost associated with the procurement of CAD software is a major factor responsible for the growing consumer use of unlicensed software.
• India has been recording high penetration of unlicensed software, which may eventually result in increased risks of data leaks and security breaches.
• Moreover, the impact of software piracy is not only limited to end users, software licensing companies are also bearing the ill effects of piracy.

India CAD Software Industry Outlook

Technology Insights

• 3D software is the larger technology with a market share of around 65% in 2023 and it is also the faster-growing category in the market. This is mainly due to factors such as 3D CAD’s faster designing capabilities, accurate and realistic 3D drawings, and time and cost savings.
• Additionally, this technology allows for effective collaboration with customers and non-technical colleagues and competitive advantages for end users.
• Hence, businesses are adopting 3D CAD software to achieve design automation and optimization, validate performance, receive support for 3D printing, and get quick approvals from clients on project proposals.

The technology segment has two categories:

• 2D Software
• 3D Software (Larger and Faster-Growing Technology)

Model Insights

• The solid model is the largest category, with a market share of around 45% in 2023, and it is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.
• This is mainly because of the increasing need for creating complete and accurate parts, which supports the requirement for advanced simulation and enhanced visualization of the designs.
• Solid modelling is also parametric in nature, which allows designers to save changes at each stage of the modelling process, which can be edited at any time during design.
• Some of the advantages offered by solid modelling are a complete representation of an object, suitability for mass production, a lot of information about products, and quick creation of designs.

During the study, three models have been found:

• Wireframe
• Surface
• Solid (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)

Deployment Insights

• The cloud category held a larger market share of around 75% in 2023 and it is also projected to record faster growth. This dominancy is due to the rise in internet penetration and awareness regarding the fact that the cloud makes CAD functionality easier, with better access to data.
• Furthermore, the cloud-based subscription model offers a high reduction in terms of infrastructure costs. The costs shift away from high-end, in-house computing hardware to shared services, which are deployed in a multi-tenant environment.
• With cloud-based CAD software, users pay only for what they need, without having the need to buy the hardware to run their simulations. Such factors are resulting in the high demand for cloud-based CAD software.

Further, deployment is of two types:

• On-Premises
• Cloud (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)

License Insights

• The official license is a larger category, which held a market share of 80% in 2023. This is mainly due to factors including data protection and safety, consistent support from license-offering companies for the fixing of bugs, reduced vulnerability to malware attacks, regulatory compliance, high work accuracy, and regular updates of the software.
• Moreover, organizations using pirated versions of software may face legal action, which has resulted in reduced cases of pirated software being deployed, thereby leading to the higher usage of official, licensed software.

Further, this segment contains two categories:

• Pirated
• Official (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)

Organization Size Insights

• Thelarge enterprises accounted for a larger market share of 70% in 2023. This is associated with the surging use of CAD software by established companies in the construction, healthcare, automotive, and aerospace industries, for architectural designs, technical product drawings, building plans, and other purposes.
• CAD software offers several benefits to large companies, such as increased efficiency of designers, improved product quality, high precision, effective communication among team members, and longer product life.
• The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) category is expected to witness a higher CAGR of 9.5% from 2024 to 2030 in the market. This growth is due to affordable and user-friendly CAD solutions to meet SMEs’ needs and the wide acceptance of CAD software in enhancing efficiency and competitiveness in the country.

Further, the organization size segment has two types:

• Large Enterprises (Larger Category)
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) (Faster-Growing Category)

Industry Insights

• The architecture category is projected to record the highest CAGR of 9.6% from 2024 to 2030 in the market. This can be due to the increasing number of architectural projects in the country, especially for residential properties.
• CAD software is first used to make architectural designs, and then, the engineers’ team, with the help of those designs, works on the actual construction of the models.
• Further, the rising number of government and private infrastructure development projects is resulting in the increasing demand for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) services, thereby contributing to the considerable growth of the market in this category.
• The construction is the largest category, which held a market share of 40% in 2023. This dominancy is due to the dependency on CAD software for documentation, efficiency, design, and collaboration. The demand for CAD software will grow as the construction industry continues to evolve and grow.

During the study, these industries have been found:

• Architecture (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Engineering
• Construction (Largest Category)
• Manufacturing
• Others

Geographical Insights

• The demand for CAD software in Maharashtra is expected to witness the highest CAGR of 9.8% during 2024–2030 as well as the state holds the largest market share in the county.
• This is due to the increasing GDP of the state and its dominance in sectors including manufacturing, technology, international trade, and finance.
• Moreover, this is ascribed to the presence of a large number of engineering and construction companies, rapid adoption of advanced technologies by industries and their strong focus on innovative product designing, increasing manufacturing of electrical parts and equipment, and surging number of infrastructure projects in the city.

Further, states analyzed in this report include:

• Jammu and Kashmir
• Uttar Pradesh
• Jharkhand
• Maharashtra (Largest and Fastest-Growing State Market)
• Uttarakhand
• Bihar
• Madhya Pradesh
• Gujarat
• Andhra Pradesh
• Telangana
• Kerala
• Tamil Nadu
• Rest of India

India CAD Software Market Share

The market is driven by major players, such as Autodesk Inc., Dassault Systèmes SE, and Siemens AG, which have a broad range of 2D and 3D solutions. Various industry's growth will also elevate the market in the near future. Mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships are the approaches that are being used by organizations to beat competitors.

India CAD Software Industry News

• In March 2024, Hexagon launched a 3D light scanner to provide unparalleled flexibility for examining complex parts.
• In February 2024, Hexagon partnered up with AI specialists to measure 3D blast movement.
• In February 2024, Dassault Systèmes partnered up with BMW Group to bring the 3D experience platform.
• In December 2023, IronCAD unveiled its novel design software update to advance key functionalities, streamline the design process, and offer exceptional user experience.