The Age Of Ed-Tech

India is already the second-largest market for e-learning after the US and, according to IBEF, the sector is expected to reach $1.96 billion (Rs 14,308 crore) by 2021, with around 9.5 million users.

- M.G. Arun

The economic consequences of the lockdown, imposed to fight a runaway Covid-19 pandemic, are by now well known: the headline statistic being a 23.9 per cent contraction in India’s GDP growth for the first quarter of the current fiscal, which underlines how the broad economy has been crippled. India’s education sector, estimated at $91.7 billion (Rs 6.67 lakh crore) in FY18, according to India Brand Equity Foundation, was not spared either. The closure of schools and colleges hit the finances of thousands of educational institutions. However, the constraints of the physical world presented a fortuitous opportunity for educational technology start-ups, which witnessed a big surge in demand for their offerings. India’s leading ed-tech app Byju’s Classes ranked among the world’s top 10 most-downloaded education apps during the lockdown. Current trends indicate that digital learning will be an integral part of educational institutions in the postCovid world and, taking note of this, investors are making a beeline for this sector. According to media reports, Venture capital in the ed-tech space increased to $795 million (Rs 5,803.5 crore) in the first six months of 2020, from $108 million (Rs 788.4 crore) in the corresponding period last year.