India’s online higher Tech education and upskilling boom: Setting new benchmarks

The Indian online higher education and upskilling industry is registering an unprecedented growth with the market set to expand to INR 13,200 crore in FY 2023 (2022-2023 fiscal) to  Rs.41,500 crore by FY 2028, as per reports by Technopak Advisors and ResearchAndMarkets.com. Such an incredible CAGR growth percentage of 25.7 percent shows a national trend towards flexible, industry and easy-to-access education. Upskilling is no longer an option in the current job market that changes rapidly. Certifications in AI, data science, digital marketing and others are in demand, and in FY 2021, almost 7 out of 10 online education enrollments were made by professionals with less than three years of experience. Training to get updated is the new important thing to get competitive in the work force.

Reshaping India’s EdTech landscape

Learning in India is being revolutionised by platforms such as Jaro Education, UpGrad, Great Learning, Simplilearn, TalentEdge, and TimesPro. These are the businesses that partner with the best universities and employ the industry people, combining their efforts with technologies and new models of interaction to gain fast growth and rising number of students.

Jaro Education can be exemplified by its strategic depth and partner orientation, in the crowded arena. With partnerships with 100 top national rank accredited institutes that include IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Madras, and IIT Delhi, Jaro has established a name that could be counted as a credible bridge between the achievements of institutions and the desires of the learners. Jaro has an extensiveness and variety that is unprecedented with 239 programs in 34 partner institutions worldwide. Jaro Education is the leader of the sector who provides great financial indicators with a high EBITDA and PAT as well as high margins. It has consistently been performing and performing well in terms of margins, and also it is the market leader, as far as margins are concerned, compared to other players such as Imarticus, TimesPro and Intellipaat.

Why is upskilling essential?

Industry experts are unanimous about the importance of upskilling. On LinkedIn, Dr. Sandeep Pachpande, Chairman of ASM Group of Institutes, states, “Upskilling is no longer optional. In today’s dynamic workplace, continuous learning is the only way to stay relevant.” Edtech analyst Rohan Joshi (@rohanjoshi) posted on X, “India’s online upskilling market is not just growing—it’s evolving into the backbone of our future workforce. Platforms that blend industry partnerships with academic rigor will lead the way.”

Government initiatives like the National Education Policy 2020, Digital India, and Skill India, along with increased budget allocations, are making online learning more inclusive and accessible. These policies are particularly empowering women and students from smaller towns to access quality education and upskilling opportunities. Other government projects like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Digital India, and Skill India are taking place to make online learning more inclusive and accessible throughout India and are transforming the situation. Integration of digital education at all levels, in particular, has become one of the priorities of the NEP 2020, which considers it necessary to ensure digital infrastructure, high-speed internet, and access to digital devices to students in rural and urban settings. In promoting education through technology, NEP 2020 has an objective of why it wants to provide access to the digital divide so that students in remote areas/ smaller towns will be able to access the high quality learning materials and interactive contents irrespective of their location.

The policy will also encourage the formation of digital pedagogy, and there are special teacher trainings to allow them to make proper use of the digital tools and allow students to think critically and solve problems. The direct result of this policy attention is seen in such projects as PM eVidya and the development of digital repositories, virtual labs, and online teaching platforms. Individualised, flexible and competence-based learning track provided by NEP can be especially in favour of women and learners representing marginalised communities, who might have obstructed access to customary education.

Future outlook

Combined with higher government budget shares on education, the policies are not only democratising access to education but also giving women and students in smaller towns greater access to quality education and upskilling opportunities that were geographically unreachable in the past. This holistic model is transforming the education sector in India and is making the society more equal and ready to survive.

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