Education & Training Industry in India

The Indian edtech market size is expected to reach US$ 30 billion by 2031, from US$ 700-800 million in 2021.

Advantage India

Robust
Demand

* India has the largest population in the world in the age bracket of 5-24 years with 580 million people, presenting a huge opportunity in the education sector.

* India has over 250 million school going students, more than any other country.

* India K-12 segment growth was valued at US$ 48.9 billion in 2023. It is, currently, estimated to grow at a rate of 10.7%. Projected to reach an impressive US$ 125.8 billion by 2032.

Competitive
Advantage

* Large English-speaking population allows easy delivery of educational products. India was ranked 52nd out of 111 countries in the English Proficiency Index 2022.

* Nine Indian institutes - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) - were among the top 500 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

Policy
support

*100% FDI (automatic route) is allowed in the education sector in India.

* The Government of India has taken initiatives like National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill.

Increasing
Investments

* The education market in India is expected to amount to US$ 225 billion by FY25.

* From April 2000-March 2024, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the education sector stood at US$ 9.51 billion.

* Indian edtech startups have received total investment of US$ 3.94 billion across 155 deals in FY22.

* In June 2022, edtech platform PhysicsWallah became India’s 101st unicorn by raising US$ 100 million in a Series-A funding round from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, valuing the company at US$ 1.1 billion.

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Last updated: Sep, 2024

Education Sector in India Industry Report

Aug, 2024

Introduction

India has the largest population in the world in the age bracket of 5-24 years with 580 million people, presenting a huge opportunity in the education sector. India holds an important place in the global education industry. India has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further development and improvement in the education system.

With increasing awareness, private Indian players are collaborating with international brands to provide an international standard of education. Private investments in the Indian education sector have increased substantially over the past two decades. The demand for specialised degrees is also picking up with more and more students opting for specific industry-focused qualifications. Higher education institutes in India are focusing on creating online programmes due to the increasing demand from consumers.

With cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML, IoT and blockchain, India's education sector will redefine itself in the years to come. It has also embraced the Education 4.0 revolution, which promotes inclusive learning and increased employability.

The government has implemented policies like the NEP, which will be fully implemented over the course of this decade starting from 2021-22 and will have a strong focus on high-quality vocational education.

Market Size

The education sector in India was estimated to be worth US$ 117 billion in FY20 and is expected to reach US$ 225 billion by FY25.

India K-12 segment growth was valued at US$ 48.9 billion in 2023. It is, currently, estimated to grow at a rate of 10.7%. Projected to reach an impressive US$ 125.8 billion by 2032.

India has over 250 million school-going students, more than any other country. India had 43.3 million students enrolled in higher education in 2021-22 with 22.6 million male and 20.7 million female students.

According to UNESCO’s ‘State of the Education Report for India 2021’, the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) at senior secondary schools was 47:1, as against 26:1 in the overall school system.

The Number of colleges in India reached 50,577 in FY25 (as of July 29, 2024) and 43,796 in FY21, up from 42,343 in FY20. The number of universities in India reached 1,284 in FY25 (as of July 29, 2024), up from 760 in FY15.

India had 43.3 million students enrolled in higher education in 2021-22 with 22.6 million male and 20.7 million female students, as against 41.3 million students enrolled in higher education in 2020-21, with 21.2 million male and 20.1 million female students. In 2022-23, there are 8,902 total AICTE-approved institutes in India. Out of these 8,902 institutes, there are 3,577 undergraduate, 4,786 postgraduate and 3,957 diploma institutes.

The Indian edtech market size is expected to reach US$ 30 billion by 2031, from US$ 700-800 million in 2021. According to KPMG, India has also become the second largest market for E-learning after the US.

The online education market in India is expected to grow by US$ 2.28 billion during 2021-2025, growing at a CAGR of almost 20%.

Investments/ Recent Developments

From April 2000-March 2024, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the education sector stood at US$ 9.51 billion., according to the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The education and training sector in India has witnessed some major investments and developments in the recent past. Some of them are:

IIT Bombay has secured the top spot in India in the QS World University Rankings 2025, released on June 5. The global ranking agency reported that 61% of Indian universities have improved their standings compared to last year.
The Union Budget 2024 introduces a significant financial support program offering loans up to Rs. 10 lakh (US$ 11,943.31) for higher education in Indian institutions. This includes e-vouchers for one lakh students each year and a 3% reduction in interest rates on these loans.
Edtech startup ConveGenius has raised US$7 million, led by UBS Optimus Foundation.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been a cornerstone in driving comprehensive reforms in higher education, with the overarching goal of increasing the gross enrolment ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035.
A total of 91 Indian institutions have been included in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, up from 75 in 2023.
India overtakes China as fourth most numbers of universities in Times Higher Education University Rankings 2024
Under the Interim Budget 2024-25, the Department of School Education & Literacy's budget allocation for FY 2024–2025 is Rs. 73,498 crores (US$ 8.82 billion), the highest amount ever.
In December 2023, UNICEF, and its global partnerships platform Generation Unlimited (also known as YuWaah in India) partnered with key organisations committed to working towards a green future for children and young people as a part of the Green Rising India Alliance.
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, in July 2023, laid the foundation stone for three new buildings at Delhi University — the faculty of technology, a computer centre, and an academic block.
In September 2023, the government launched the Skill India Digital (SID) platform to make skill development more innovative, accessible, and personalised with a focus on digital technology and Industry 4.0 skills.
In September 2023, a three-year partnership called "Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a Generation of Students, Educators, and Entrepreneurs" was launched by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Meta in New Delhi.
In August 2023, Union Minister of Education Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF), which has been developed based on the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 vision. As per that, in order to guarantee that students have adequate time and opportunity to perform successfully, board exams will be offered at least twice a year.
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.
In July 2023, the Indian government announced a new free AI training course as part of its India 2.0 program. Developed in a collaborative effort between Skill India and GUVI, the program proudly holds accreditations from the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) and IIT Madras.
In November 2022, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) launched an online MA programme in Sustainability Science.
Under the revised curriculum as per the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, students of BA-LLB (five-year integrated law course) of Allahabad University (AU) will be taught about disaster management.
As per the QS World University Rankings 2023, India is home to 41 out of almost 1,500 top global institutions in the world, with the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru being the highest-ranked institution in the country at rank 155.
GSV Ventures, a US-based venture capital firm focusing exclusively on edtech companies globally, intends to increase its investments in India's struggling edtech sector despite significant layoffs and funding challenges.
In October 2022, Byju’s raised US$ 250 million from its existing investors, including Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
In September 2022, UnfoldU Group, India’s leading online education player, announced plans to enter the space of Metaverse education.
In August 2022, Edtech startup Sunstone, which offers higher education programmes, raised US$ 35 million in funding, with participation from Alteria Capital and WestBridge Capital.
In August 2022, Bharti AXA Life announced a partnership with Great Learning, a leading global edtech company, to curate and develop a Post Graduate Program in life insurance sales.
Nine Indian institutes - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) - were among the top 500 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2023.
Indian edtech startups have received total investment of US$ 3.94 billion across 155 deals in FY22. Growth-stage funding rounds accounted for about 60% of the deals in EdTech space in terms of deal count, with an average ticket size of US$ 10 million in H1 CY23. In H2 CY22, Byju’s and UpGrad each raised a substantial sum of money—more than US$ 200 million.
In June 2022, Pfizer India and the Americares India Foundation launched the OPEN AMR – an online education platform for nurses to learn anti-microbial resistance.
In June 2022, edtech platform PhysicsWallah became India’s 101^stunicorn by raising US$ 100 million in a Series-A funding round from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, valuing the company at US$ 1.1 billion.
In June 2022, edtech unicorn UpGrad raised US$ 225 million in a funding round that included Lupa Systems LLC and US testing and assessment provider Educational Testing Service, valuing the company at US$ 2.25 billion.
In June 2022, Amazon India launched the second edition of Machine Learning (ML) Summer School, with the aim to provide students the opportunity to learn important ML technologies from Amazon scientists, making them ready for careers in science.
India had 89 universities in Times Higher Education Emerging Economies University Rankings 2022, behind Russia with 100 and China with 97.
In February 2022, the AICTE - backed by AWS Academy and EduSkills - launched a two-month virtual internship program in AI for 5,000 students. The course duration is two months, and the students will receive a certificate and a digital badge upon completion.
In February 2022, education-focused fintech firm Propelld raised US$ 35 million from in a series-B funding round from WestBridge Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, India Quotient, and others.
In February 2022, the Tech Mahindra Foundation, the company's CSR arm, partnered with Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL) to help underemployed or unemployed people get started in cloud computing. The AWS re/Start programme was a 12-week in-person skills-based training programme that covers foundational AWS Cloud abilities, as well as practical job skills like interviewing and resume writing to assist individuals in preparing for entry-level cloud positions.
In October 2021, Teachmint was valued at US$ 500 million after a US$ 78 million funding round.
In October 2021, Byju’s raised Rs. 2,200 crore (US$ 300 million) to increase the company’s valuation from US$ 16.4 billion in 2020 to US$ 18 billion in 2021.

Government Initiatives

Some of the other major initiatives taken by the Government are:

According to the Union Budget 2024-25:
The government allocated Rs. 73,498 crore (US$ 8.83 billion) for the Department of School Education and Literacy in FY25, an increase of 19.56% compared with the Union Budget 2023-24.
The government has allocated 5.72 billion (47,619.77 crores) to Department of Higher Education in FY2024-25 an increase of 7.99% from previous year.
Allocation towards the Samagra Shiksha Scheme increased to US$ 4.51 billion (Rs. 37,500 crores) in FY25.
In March 2024, Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launched various initiatives namely, District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETS) of Excellence and National Mission for Mentoring. This program is to strengthen teacher training.
Financial assistance, totalling to US$ 1.08 billion (Rs 9,000 crores) will be delivered to States/UTs for upgradation of all DIETs to develop them as DIET of Excellence in the country in a phased manner in the next five years.
In May 2024, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, launched the ‘Capacity Building on Design and Entrepreneurship (CBDE)’ program. This program target to build a problem-solving approach that encourages creative and innovative solutions in students.
In August 2023, Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), marking an important and transformative step towards the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020. The development of the NCF-SE was guided by a vision to align education with the demands of the 21st century and the ethos of the Indian knowledge system.
In the Union Budget2023, it was announced that District Institutes of Education and Training to be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for teachers’ training.
In Union Budget2023, it was announced that a National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents to be set up for facilitating the availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device-agnostic accessibility.
100% FDI under automatic route is allowed in the Indian education sector.
In November 2022, Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, suggested constituting a joint working group between India and Zimbabwe on education, skill development and capacity building.
To liberalise the sector, the Government has taken initiatives such as the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Education and the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill.
In July 2022, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated a three-day Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam at Varanasi to discuss how the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 can be taken further across the country with various stakeholders.
As part of a comprehensive initiative known as PM eVIDYA, the Department of School Education and the Ministry of Education were recognised by UNESCO for their use of information and communication technology (ICT) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education, has planned to solicit opinions from various stakeholders through an online public consultation survey. This will be helpful in gathering very useful and important inputs for the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework.
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.
Under the Interim Budget 2024-25, the Department of School Education & Literacy's budget allocation for FY 2024–2025 is Rs. 73,498 crores (US$ 8.82 billion), the highest amount ever.
In February 2022, 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 February 2022, the Ministry of Education approved the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) to continue till 2026.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasis on early childhood care and education. The 10+2 structure of school curricula is to be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years, respectively.
The Cabinet accepted the continuance of the Samagra Shiksha School Education Scheme in 2021 from April 1, 2021-March 31, 2026.
In October 2021, the NSDC launched the largest 'Impact Bond' in India with a US$ 14.4 million fund, to help 50,000 youngsters in the country acquire skills necessary for employment.
In September 2021, NISHTHA 3.0 Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FtN) was released for teachers and school administrators of pre-primary to class V in an online fashion on the DIKSHA platform.

Road Ahead

In 2030, it is estimated that India’s higher education will:

Combine training methods that involve online learning and games, and it is expected to grow by 38% in the next 2-4 years.
Adopt transformative and innovative approaches in higher education.
Have an augmented Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 50%.
Reduce state-wise, gender-based and social disparity in GER to 5%.
Emerge as the single largest provider of global talent with one in four graduates in the world being a product of the Indian higher education system.
Be among the top five countries in the world in terms of research output with an annual R&D spend of US$ 140 billion.
Have more than 20 universities among the global top 200 universities.

Various government initiatives are being adopted to boost the growth of the distance education market, besides focusing on new education techniques such as E-learning and M-learning.

The Government of India has taken several steps including opening of IITs and IIMs in new locations, as well as allocating educational grants for research scholars in most government institutions. Furthermore, with the online mode of education increasingly being used by several educational organisations, the higher education sector in India is set for major change and development in the years to come.

Note: The conversion rate used for June 2024 is Rs. 1 = US$ 0.012

References: Media Reports, Press Releases, Press Information Bureau, RNCOS Report, Department for Promotion of Industry, and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Union Budget 2023-24