Edtech Sector Aims Digital Techniques & Education Hubs

Over the past few years, there has been an upward trend in the Indian edtech market. The need for new abilities in the cutthroat marketplace and the ease of learning from anywhere at any time are some of the main drivers of growth in this industry. The education sector, which is among the top contributors to the economy and so remains a significant emphasis every year, has big ambitions to maintain in the Union Budget for the years 2023-2024, which is just around the corner. To put things in perspective, the government provided a sum of Rs 63,449.37 for school education and literacy and Rs 40,828.35 crore for higher education in last year's Union Budget for 2022-23. The Union Budget 2023 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2023.

Tax exemption on the supply of goods and services to academic institutions and intermediaries can reduce the overall cost that is currently passed on to schools and parents.

Industry players are anticipating the government's effort to create a more robust ecosystem for digital education that supports learning and a solid strategy to hasten the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Education hubs

The government may also consider making other policy changes to promote India as a global education hub. This could include simplifying the visa process for international students, providing tax incentives for foreign universities that set up campuses in India, and promoting India as a destination for education tourism.

“The National Education Policy from 2020 is expected to be implemented soon, and it aims to bring about comprehensive and inclusive reforms across the entire education spectrum. These reforms include initiatives such as increasing access to education and technology, promoting research and experimentation and encouraging lifelong learning. Additionally, the government may also focus on vocational training and provide more opportunities for international students," says Mayank Singh, Co-founder, Campus 365.

Digital infrastructure 

With the increasing focus on learning by doing and bringing technology into the classroom, the ecosystem is becoming livelier and more interactive now.

“We expect that the government will recognise and encourage businesses to concentrate on skill development and guarantee jobs with the Union Budget 2023. We also want the government to recognise 'Skill-to-Job' as a distinct category and support ed-tech platforms with various programmes or tax breaks. Students and professionals are choosing online courses in record numbers, particularly in tier two and three cities. Building a reliable digital infrastructure for such towns presents a problem. Upskilling is essential in light of new technology and market trends and we hope that the budget will pay particular attention to this area,” states Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and CEO, Imarticus Learning.

With eBooks, the course content can be embedded with videos, augmented reality, audio files, etc which are beautifully managed by Learning Management systems. The new interactive ways of learning allow for more student-teacher engagement to take place in the classroom.

Budget 2023 will be essential to maintaining the rise India's education sector has witnessed over the past three years given that businesses in the edtech sector are experiencing losses, making layoffs, halting expansion plans and seeking to preserve cash amid a financing winter.