India's Additive Manufacturing Strategy Progress and Future Plans
The Indian government has released a comprehensive update on the progress of its National Strategy for Additive Manufacturing (NSAM), launched in February 2022 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The strategy serves as India's guiding policy framework for 3D printing and additive manufacturing, aligned with the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.
NSAM has achieved significant milestones, training over 154,000 individuals in additive manufacturing-related skills and supporting 56 AM start-ups. The network of seven specialized Development and Deployment Centres has enabled the development of 65 India-specific technologies covering materials, machines, Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), and printed products. The strategy aims to capture 5% of the global additive manufacturing market, add nearly US$1 billion to India's GDP, develop 50 India-specific technologies, nurture 100 new additive manufacturing start-ups, develop 500 new products, and train 100,000 skilled workers.
Sectoral Applications and Demonstrations
Additive manufacturing is being adopted across critical sectors including space, defense, healthcare, electronics, and construction. In the space sector, IIT Madras-incubated start-up Agnikul Cosmos launched Agnibaan - SOrTeD in May 2024, featuring a single-piece, AM printed semi-cryogenic rocket engine. The defense sector has utilized AM for construction, with the Indian Army inaugurating its first AM-printed two-story dwelling unit at Ahmedabad built in just 12 weeks, and extending the technology to precast defenses in operational terrains like Ladakh.
In healthcare, MeitY has supported AM-based medical device manufacturing through startups like OsteoForge that is AM printing natural silk-based implant development. The Technology Development Board is supporting 3D-printed bone grafts made from indigenous bioceramic materials. Electronics applications include AM printed components such as batteries, antennas, varistors, and capacitors, with IISc demonstrating Photonic Integrated Circuit blocks using AM printing - a global first.
Construction sector applications show promising results, with the Kelvin 6K Pro demonstrating the ability to build 2,500 sq ft homes in under 30 days using low-carbon geopolymer material, indicating potential for 30% lower material and logistics costs and 90% lower emissions compared with cement-based construction.
NSAM 2.0 and Future Direction
The strategy is now moving into its NSAM 2.0 phase, which plans to accelerate Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) generation, grow AM network through Digital Integration, and develop globally competitive additive manufacturing technologies for commercialization. NSAM 2.0 aims to improve affordability of machines and materials through clusters, strengthen the additive manufacturing electronics value chain, expand the additive manufacturing start-up base, provide extensive support to Indian defense, and promote Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-driven pilot programmes.
The global AM machines market is projected to reach USD 149 billion by 2035, with the AM-electronics supply chain set to grow from USD 18 billion to USD 112 billion, providing India with significant market opportunities. The government is also nurturing 3D printing skills at the school level through Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), with each lab receiving a grant of ₹20 lakh to set up innovation workspaces equipped with 3D printers.