India holds an important place in the global education industry. India has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the world. The beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution began the transition towards a world that relies heavily on digital technology to make things easier. We currently have more than 560 million internet users in India and the number is growing exponentially. India is going through an incredible phase of technological development and it is impacting the education sector.

India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million in the age category of 5-24 years which provides a great opportunity for the education sector. India has also become the second-largest market for e-learning after the US. The e-learning market is expected to reach $1.96 billion by the end of 2021 with a CAGR of 52% and grow exponentially in the future. The intervention of the Covid-19 pandemic has added fuel to the fire of the already evolving e-learning market in India. E-learning has shown tremendous potential towards transforming the education industry in India. Several institutes have transitioned to an online teaching model and are planning on continuing with it even after the pandemic subsides.

Online education's flexibility has also opened the doors for working professionals who don’t have the time to enroll in courses to improve their skill-set and advance their careers. With e-learning, education is no longer limited to geographical location. Just a laptop, a smartphone, or a tablet with an internet connection can give you access to the best educational material on any subject. E-learning is not only more efficient as compared to classroom learning, but it is highly affordable as well. You can pursue online courses from the most prestigious universities at highly affordable rates.

E-learning doesn’t just benefit the students but also the teachers as well. The teachers have to spend a lot of time doing mundane tasks from taking attendance to hauling answer sheets and manually assessing every student’s performance that would better be handled by AI now.

The primary challenge for the e-learning industry in India is the lack of technological facilities in rural areas but the government has launched several initiatives to fast track technological development of Indian villages to bridge the gap between urban and rural education. Every student can learn at his/her own pace since all the study material is available permanently in one place with e-learning.

E-learning brings unique advantages with the most prominent advantage being the ability for online instructors to provide personalised attention to all students. This is especially critical for those students who cannot afford private face-to-face tutoring sessions or who live in rural areas where such help is not available.  Another important advantage is that people living in smaller towns and cities can get access to the best possible learning resources at a very affordable price from across the world. This helps create a level-playing field in education.