Industry Analysis

E-Learning Industry
SIC Code (8200)
NIC Code (85)

Introduction
With a population of over 1.2 billion and over 30% of school age, India has
huge potential for education sector. India may boast of 25% of world's
workforce by 2025i. To make sure this devindent doesnt turn into a deficit
India needs efficient education solutions.
The biggest problem for education sector is the lack of infrastructure to
support the large number of students India have. This can be solved by using
e learning solutions.

Market Size and opportunity

The size of the Indian education industry is Rs. 3833.1 Billion ($ 63 Billion) in
2012-13 by CARE ratingsii of which $ 20 Billion is the share of e learning
industry. But the industry is expected grow to $ 40 Billion by 2017.
Some of the key drivers for growth are
Demand for quality education
Govt Target of training 500 million by 2022 (NSDC)iii
Corporate Training shift towards e learning
Expansion of internet connectivity across country
The industry is expected to grow at 18% CAGR

Customer Segments: The industry has various types of customer with different needs.
K12:- Due to huge population in India the number of enrolments in schools is
high. Many stakeholders are demanding improvements in the class delivery
process. Companies are trying to make learning fun and engaging. Many
players are offering 2D and 3D animated content to assist teachers in
explaining complex concepts. The sector also has some personalised
products for students which assist them in revision and exam preparation.
Higher Education:- Indian education system does not allow the students
the freedom to take variety of courses. Because of the tough competition,
securing a job only with the degree is also difficult, Therefore lot of students
go for online courses.
Continuous Professional Development:- Due to the amount of time and
infrastructure required for offline training, Corporate entities are also moving
towards online training modules.iv
Test Prep:- The boom in IT and outsourcing industry has made English
Language an attraction among the non English speaking Indians. The
selection procedure to various government jobs and prestigious institution go
through competitive exams. This opens a great opportunity for e learning
companies to offer courses for JEE, PMT, CAT, GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, SSC, IBPS
and various other exams.v

Regulatory Frameworks:Presently the regulations for e-learning are the same as of distance learning,
if the candidate needs the course for the posts and services under the
central governmentvi. Otherwise all other courses are unregulated. Though
some products in K12 domain have been empanelled by the CBSE as per
their CCE(Continuous and Comprehensive Education)vii. The government has
also been taking steps to provide learning platforms for students through the
platform of IGNOU.

Trends and Opportunities:1. Adaptive Learning

The participants are given remedial lessons based on their performance in
the adaptive tests. Such strategies include software which can analyze a
participants strengths and weakness in various topics. Such offerings aim to
build the concepts of an individual.
2. Gamification
There have been continuous efforts to make learning more engaging and fun.
Online courses have been using it effectively to attract customers. Be it
schools or corporate training, using game design thinking to non-game
applications is the new trend in teaching pedagogy. Even IIMs are using
simulation games as part of their curriculum.viii
3. Mobile Learning
Widespread use of smart phones and increase in mobile data consumption
offers an opportunity to use mobile phones as the next learning platform.
Many of the leading players in the industry have their android and iOS apps.
Many companies such as iProf and DataWind are offering learning solutions
on tablets.
4. MOOCs
Massive Open Online Courses are a great tool for learning. Such courses can
be attended by thousands of students online.

Geography
The biggest advantage of online learning is the abandoning of geographical
barrier in the learning process. Websites such as Khan Academy and
Coursera are examples of such solutions.
In the Indian market companies are targeting customers in the metros first
and then in Tier I & Tier II cities, based on factors such as purchasing power,
the demand for quality education and the number of internet users.
Institutes like NIIT set up their study centres and then offer the classes
through online platforms. Companies who offer classroom solutions to school
also need to have offices in various cities for live demos and service
contracts, whereas companies who rely only on internet for their course
delivery are targeting customers irrespective of their location.

Major Players:NIIT is the largest provider of IT courses in India and they have recently set
up a university of their own. They are also an outsourcing company that
provides managed training services including custom content development
and curriculum design, learning administration, learning delivery, strategic
sourcing, and learning technology.
Meritnation has a user base of 70 lakh registered users. They have a huge
database of course material in the K12 domain. They also have Gamification
features and a mobile app for iOS and android users.
Educomp: is a leader in several of the market segments it operates in. It has
created and owns the largest content library for K-12. It is the largest
Professional Development Company, a leading ICT Solutions Company, and
the pioneer in education process outsourcing in India. Educomp, the only
Education Ecosystem Company in India, has a portfolio of fast growing
brands.
TalentEdge has trained over 300,000 students and professionals in 90
locations worldwide through its training centres in India, Africa, Middle East
and South East Asia.
The brand also has productive relationships with about 70 blue chip
corporate like Bank of America, Cap Gemini, Novartis etc. to name a few.
TalentEdge engages with multiple Universities, whose degrees are offered at
our centres and they are also training partners for global IT brands like
Microsoft & Oracle.

Conclusion:E-learning offers great opportunity for growth in the Indian education sector.
The sector is attractive for start-ups as the fixed costs are low for content
development and course delivery. The major threats are the open source
courses and giant firms like TATA, Reliance and Network 18 venturing into e
learning. Resistance of some of the faculty and students to try the e learning
solution is also a big hurdle. The sector is expected to register more than
18% CAGR.
With the BJP led NDA in power, sector expects them to implement these
words from their election manifesto setting up of Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOC) and virtual classrooms to make it convenient for working class people and housewives
to further their knowledge and qualifications and Use technology to deliver low cost quality
education to specially-abled students 'in-home' through E-learning.ix
Based on the above report we can conclude that the sector awaits innovative
and cost-effective ideas and only the bold enterprises and patient investors
will succeed.

i http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-21/news/27567416_1_capitaincome-labour-market-demographic-dividend
ii http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/education-loan-gets-a-bigboost/
iii http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-career-interview-with-unionminister-for-hrd-m-m-pallam-raju/20131003.htm
iv http://elearningindustry.com/necessary-move-corporate-training-online
v http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Investors-back-test-prepsite-Embibe/articleshow/34559077.cms
vi

http://kuk.ac.in/userfiles/file/distance_education/DISTANCE_COURSES_FOR_EMPLOYMENT_PURPOSE.pdf

vii http://www.carveniche.com
viii elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2031772Major players data collected from their websites
and linkedin profiles

ix BJP ,manifesto from BJP website www.bjp.org/manifesto2014