Budget 2023 can be an important inflection point for the Indian edtech sector to establish their dominance in the global markets. The government’s initiatives, such as Digital India, the National Education Policy (NEP), UGC reforms will continue to create an enabling environment for the growth of the edtech industry at large.
The NEP had set a target of 6 per cent of the GDP as investment in education. Given that we are currently at around 3 per cent of the GDP, it is expected that the government will increase spending towards education sector which can lead to better outcomes for the overall economy.
Some of the key focus areas of the Budget 2023 from an edtech perspective should include:
- Tax incentives and benefits for ed-tech players to drive the overall ecosystem and increase technology adoption. This will be important to achieve some of the massive reforms being rolled out by the UGC. With over 50 per cent of our population below 25 years the government should look at lowering the tax rates.
- Investment towards technology infrastructure at schools must continue to grow, given the emerging hybrid education landscape. The last twelve months have paved the way for edtech sector towards a hybrid future. The post-Covid era has reinforced the importance of educators as the most important pillar in the student learning journey. The government should continue its focus on aligning substantial Budgets on this front.
- Collaborations with edtech players to drive implementation of technology driven solutions could be a great win-win for all the stakeholders. The need for technology-driven solutions to aid students in career decision-making is a massive need and we are seeing schools and institutions adopting advanced ways to leverage the benefits of technology especially in enabling students to build their future career paths. Driving collaborations and incentivising adoption in this domain can go a long way in implementing the changes being rolled out with NEP and UGC reforms.
- Emphasis on upskilling is also going to be crucial for the vision to build a $5-trillion economy. The government will need to invest in a big way on upskilling and reskilling for overall talent development. Educational technology can play a role in supporting upskilling and reskilling efforts by providing access to educational resources and learning opportunities that can help individuals acquire the knowledge and skills they need.
- The government should also look at initiatives to drive funding in the edtech sector for organisations to scale up faster. For instance, one of the key changes the government should look at would be reducing the tax on LTCG earned by domestic investors and make it similar to the tax applicable for foreign investors.
Prateek Bhargava is the founder and CEO of Mindler
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