India occupies a significant position in the global education sector, with one of the world’s largest networks of higher learning institutions. With nearly 24.2% of the population in the 0-14 age group, the sector offers immense opportunities for growth and long-term development.
Number of colleges in India reached 52,432 in FY26 (as of July 2026), up from 42,343 in FY20. While number of universities in India reached 1,422 in FY26 (as of July 2026), up from 760 in FY15.
India’s education market is projected to reach Rs. 26,94,617 crore (US$ 313 billion) by FY30. Within this, higher education, valued at Rs. 5,75,000 crore (US$ 68.06 billion) in 2024, is expected to nearly double to Rs. 11,60,000 crore (US$ 134.84 billion) by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 8.10%.
India’s edtech market was valued at Rs. 32,670 crore (US$ 3.63 billion) in 2025 and is projected to reach Rs. 2,99,790 crore (US$ 33.31 billion) by 2034. The digital education market is a significant growth driver, growing at a 24% CAGR from 2025 to 2030. Key players are Coursera, Udemy, edX, Pluralsight, and Udacity. APAC is expected to grow at the highest rate due to heavy investment in EdTech infrastructure, online learning platforms, and AI-driven education tools.
Cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the education sector stood at Rs. 83,605.29 Crore (US$ 11,290.86 million) between January 2000 to March 2026, accounting for 1.42% of total FDI inflows. With strong fundamentals, a young population, and rapid digital adoption, India’s education sector is poised for sustained growth.
Coursera is expanding GenAI skills in India through partnerships with 18 leading universities, including IITs, IIMs, and BITS Pilani, along with Fractal Analytics for industry-focused courses. Its AI tool Coach has boosted course completion rates, especially among women and learners from weaker academic backgrounds, with Coursera recorded 5.4 million enrolments in generative AI courses globally in 2025, nearly doubling year-on-year, reflecting the rapid adoption of AI-related skills.
In March 2026, more than 1.79 lakh ICT laboratories were approved with an investment of Rs. 7,634 crore (US$ 0.86 billion) to expand digital learning infrastructure across rural, tribal and aspirational districts. The SWAYAM platform offered 110+ free AI courses from IITs and IISc, with over 41.2 lakh student enrolments, strengthening digital and AI-based learning.
In May 2025, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) opened its first overseas campus in Dubai, advancing India’s higher education globalisation under NEP 2020 and serving global learners and the Indian community abroad.
There has been a significant increase in the share of state private universities as part of total universities. In FY26 (as of July 2026), 37.9% of universities in the state were state private universities and 34.37% were state public universities.
Imarticus Learning has announced a partnership with PwC Academy in India to provide digital-savvy professionals with expertise in Generative AI (GenAI), as stated in a recent announcement in February 2025.
In February 2026, Indian Institute of Technology Madras established the IIT Madras Global Research Foundation (IITM Global) and strengthened its global corporate partnerships through collaborations with Technische Universität Dresden, Carl Zeiss and Flexora to advance deep-tech research, innovation, commercialisation and flexible electronics.
India’s large English-speaking population allows easy delivery of educational products. 54 Indian institutes, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru and eight IITs got featured among the top 500 universities in the QS World University Rankings CY26.
In the QS World University Rankings: The QS World University Rankings 2027 featured 52 Indian universities, with 14 institutions ranked among the world's top 500. The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) emerged as India's highestranked institution at 118th globally.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 featured 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories, with India becoming the secondmost represented country globally with 128 ranked universities, behind only the United States. The Indian Institute of Science was India's highestranked institution in the 201250 band, followed by Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in the 351400 band.
The Government of India’s Rs. 60,000 crore (US$ 7.02 billion) ITI modernisation scheme will upgrade 1,000 institutes in partnership with leading corporates and train two million youth in five years. The programme will align training with industry needs, overseen by a National Steering Committee and supported by global lenders.
In November 2025, PhysicsWallah, an Indian education technology company, saw its Rs. 3,480 crore (US$ 390 million) initial public offering list at a 33-42% premium to its issue price, marking one of the strongest new-age market debuts of the year.
In H1 2025, India’s edtech funding rebounded with a fivefold surge to approximately Rs. 1,071 crore (US$ 120 million) across 11 deals, driven by AI-led startups and renewed investor confidence.
On August 17, 2025, the University of Delhi (DU) partnered with Google Cloud to offer students training in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and data analytics, along with industry-recognised certifications, hackathons and startup-incubation support.
On May 17, 2025, the IIT Bombay announced plans to open its first global campus in Japan in collaboration with Tohoku University, opening new avenues for international research and student exchange.
In May 2025, Oracle, in collaboration with Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation, began digitally training 400,000 students in emerging technologies including Oracle Cloud, AI, Data Science, DevOps, and Security through over 300 hours of structured learning on Oracle MyLearn. The programme provides certifications and skill badges to enhance employability and prepare youth for future technology roles.
In January 2025, CL Educate Limited acquired NSEIT Limited’s Digital Exam Assessment (DEX) business for Rs. 230 crore (US$ 26.6 million) upfront and Rs. 75 crore (US$ 8.7 million) earn-out, entering India’s Rs. 7,000 crore (US$ 809.5 million) assessments market.
In September 2024, PhysicsWallah raised 1,774 crore (US$ 210 million) from Hornbill Capital and Lightspeed at a Rs. 23,657 crore (US$ 2.8 billion) valuation to expand operations, with SEBI having approved its IPO in July 2025.
In October 2024, edtech firm Eruditus raised Rs. 1,267 crore (US$ 150 million), in a funding round led by US-based TPG Rise, with participation from global investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Accel, and CPP Investments.
Union Minister for Education, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, announced the establishment of three AI Centres of Excellence (CoE) in New Delhi, focusing on Healthcare, Agriculture, and Sustainable Cities. These CoEs, aimed at realizing the vision of "Viksit Bharat," will be led by leading educational institutions in collaboration with industry partners and startups.
In 2026, Amazon Web Services (AWS) strengthened its education portfolio by expanding AIpowered cloud solutions for over 17,000 education customers, supporting personalised learning, research and digital transformation across educational institutions. In August 2023, Amazon India launched the third edition of Machine Learning (ML) Summer School. This program aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn key ML technologies from Scientists at Amazon.
To liberalise the sector, the Government has taken initiatives such as the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill. The government schemes of Revitalising Infrastructure and System in Education (RISE) and Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) are helping the government tackle the prominent challenges faced by the education sector.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on enhancing quality and promoting vocational education, with a target to increase its integration across school and higher education levels. In line with its implementation, the Union Budget 2026–27 proposed support to the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies to establish gaming and content creator laboratories in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, while also increasing allocations for Samagra Shiksha to Rs. 42,100 crore and PM SHRI to Rs. 7,500 crore.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to provide vocational education to at least 50% of students by 2035, with courses aligned to the National Skills Qualification Framework offered from Grades 9–12. As of December 2025, vocational training is being delivered in 25,000 schools, covering 35 lakh students, with the Economic Survey of India recommending its expansion from Grade 6 onwards.
The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, has approved the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, aimed at providing financial support to meritorious students to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder their pursuit of higher education. This initiative aligns with the recommendations of the National Education Policy.
The Central Government approved the “New India Literacy Programme” for the period FY22-27 to cover all the aspects of adult education to align with the National Education Policy 2020 and Budget Announcements 2022-23.
In March 2026, the IndiaAI Mission, with a budget of Rs. 10,371.92 crore (US$ 1.17 billion) over five years, continued to support AI computing infrastructure, datasets and education-focused AI applications across institutions.
In July 2025, The Ministry of Minority Affairs launched the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme to empower minority communities through skill development, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership training, education, and cultural heritage promotion.
In March 2025, IIT Guwahati is developing “Gyandhara,” India’s first VR-enabled metaverse platform, to teach maths and science in local languages at PM Shri schools, starting with a pilot in 56 schools in Assam later this year.
As announced in December 2025, the Government of India plans to establish 50,000 additional Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools across the country over the next five years (2025–2030), under the Atal Innovation Mission to strengthen innovation and STEM education. As of October 2025, over 10,000 ATLs were already operational, engaging more than 1.1 crore students, highlighting the rapid expansion of India’s schoollevel innovation ecosystem.
According to PwC India, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to contribute Rs. 49,50,000–54,63,000 crore (US$ 550–607 billion) to key sectors in India by 2035. Within this, the education sector alone is projected to generate Rs. 12,53,700–13,85,100 crore (US$ 139.3–153.9 billion), driven by improved access, efficiency and learning outcomes through AI-enabled solutions.
Going Global Partnerships launched UK-India Industry-Academia TNE Grants 2025-26, offering up to US$ 23,294 for projects starting September 30, 2025, to foster UK-India education and industry collaboration.
In May 2025, The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) opened its first overseas campus in Dubai, advancing India’s higher education globalization, serving global learners and the Indian community abroad.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship approved Strategic Investment Plans worth Rs. 1,237.58 crore (US$ 128.26 million) for upgrading five Industrial Training Institute (ITI) clusters under the PMSETU scheme and rolled out the initiative nationwide to modernise 200 Government ITIs through industry-aligned infrastructure and training.
The education sector has seen a host of reforms and improved financial outlays in recent years that could possibly transform the country into a knowledge haven. With human resources increasingly gaining significance in the overall development of the country, the development of the country’s education infrastructure is expected to remain the key focus in the current decade. In this scenario, infrastructure investment in the education sector is likely to see a considerable increase.
India’s education sector is rapidly evolving into a global hub of learning, innovation, and skill development. With strong government support, rising digital adoption, global collaborations, and a young demographic base, the sector is well-positioned to expand its global footprint and shape a future-ready workforce. Going forward, India is set to play a leading role in redefining education worldwide, blending technology, inclusivity, and academic excellence to drive sustainable growth.
