IT Training

There is a lot of potential for further development in the education system

India holds an important place in the global education industry. India has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further development in the education system. Moreover, the aim of the government to raise its current gross enrolment ratio to 30 per cent by 2020 will also boost

the growth of the distance education in India.

MARKET SIZE

India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million in the age bracket of 5-24 years and this provides a great opportunity for the education sector. The education sector in India is estimated at US$ 91.7 billion in FY18 and is expected to reach US$ 101.1 billion in FY19.

Number of colleges and universities in India reached 39,050 and 903, respectively in 2017-18. India had 36.64 million students enrolled in higher education in 2017-18. Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education reached 25.8 per cent in 2017-18.

The country has become the second largest market for e-learning after the US. The sector is expected to reach US$ 1.96 billion by 2021 with around 9.5 million users.

INVESTMENTS/ RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The total amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow into the education sector in India stood at US$ 2.47 billion from April 2000 to March 2019, according to data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The education and training sector in India has witnessed some major investments and developments in the recent past. Some of them are:

• Indian education sector witnessed 18 merger and acquisition deals worth US$ 49 million in 2017.

• Of all the startups in India, 3,500 are catering to the education space. These startups received close to US$ 700 million funding in 2018. • The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India is also planning to raise around Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 15.52 billion) from private companies and high net worth individuals to finance improvement of education infrastructure in the country.

• India has signed a loan agreement with World Bank under ‘Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion’ (SANKALP) Project to enhance institutional mechanisms for skills development.

• Singapore is going to open its first skill development centre in Assam, which will provide vocational training to youth in the region.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Some of the other major initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

• In August 2018, Innovation Cell and Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) were launched to assess innovation efforts and encourage a healthy competition among higher educational institutions in the country.

• In August 2018, Government of India launched the second phase of ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ which aims to link higher educational institutions in the country with at least five villages. The scheme covers 750 such institutions.

• The allocation for school education under the Union Budget 201819 is expected to increase by 14 per cent, to focus on accelerating existing schemes and quality improvement.

• In order to boost the Skill India Mission, two new schemes, Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion ( SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE), have been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Government of India, with an outlay of Rs 6,655 crore (US$ 1.02 billion) and will be supported by the World Bank.

• The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) campaign is undertaken by Ministry of Human Resource Development to increase engagement between states, union territories, central ministries, educational institutions and general public.

• Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi launched the Skill India initiative – ‘Kaushal Bharat, Kushal Bharat’. Under this initiative, the government has set itself a target of training 400 million citizens by 2022 that would enable them to find jobs. The initiatives launched include various programmes like: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana ( PMKVY), National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015, Skill Loan scheme, and the National Skill Development Mission.

• In December 2018, the Government of India published that 3.43 million candidates had enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-20 scheme. Up to January 24, 2019 as many as 2.53 million candidates were trained under under the scheme’s Short Term Training (STT).