India has the world’s largest population in the age bracket of 5-24 years with 580 million people, presenting great potential for growth. The education market in India is expected to amount to USD 225 billion by FY25. India has over 250 million school-going students, more than any other country. There are 1,043 universities, 42,343 colleges, and 11,779 stand-alone institutions in India, making it one of the largest higher education sectors in the world.

The National Education Policy 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035. Twelve Indian universities, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), ranked among the top 500 universities in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022.

But intense competition for the top universities and the lack of certain specialized courses in India leads to many students opting for foreign universities for higher education. As per the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), a total of 1,33,135 Indian students had departed for higher education by March 2022, making India the second biggest source of international students after China.

While the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted the education industry globally, the EdTech market in India grew tremendously. It not only brought about disruption in the traditional education system but also enabled students, especially from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to gain access to new information and varied courses. The online education market in India grew by 19.02% in 2021 and is expected to grow by USD 2.28 billion between 2021-2025, growing at a CAGR of almost 20%. The size of Indian edtech is expected to reach USD 30 billion by 2031, from USD 700-800 million in 2021.