Education Budget 2023: EdTech sector welcomes digital initiatives, focus on AI in education

NEW DELHI: The EdTech sector Wednesday welcomed the budget announcements on digital initiatives with a focus on artificial intelligence in the education sector, terming it a step towards the "digital revolution".

Three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence in top educational institutions, 100 laboratories in engineering institutions for developing applications using 5G services, and a national digital library for children and adolescents for facilitating the availability of quality books across geographies, languages and genres, are among the announcements for the education sector in the 2023-24 Budget.

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Aarul Malviya, the founder of Zamt, said Union Budget 2023-24 reflects the government's profound interest in bringing a digital revolution in the education sector and promoting the use of artificial intelligence in it. "We are glad that the government's new budget is in line with India's ed-tech sector. With the announcement of establishing a National Digital Library for children and adolescents, the ed-tech sector will definitely get a boost.

"It will create a digital ecosystem in the education sector, encourage digital education and largely benefit the students who are lagging due to the pandemic," he said. The budget has also highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence in the education sector by announcing the establishment of three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence to enable 'Make AI for India' and 'Make AI work for India', Malviya said.

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He added the step is going to encourage ed-tech companies and start-ups on an enormous scale. Amod Dani, the co-founder and COO India, Keybridge Global Education, said the budget has highlighted the need to invest in the nation's human capital to achieve the ambitious target of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy. "Through our vision for EdTech 2.0, we aim to play a key role in developing a credible workforce that accelerates India's economic engine. We are delighted to see the alignment in our purpose of bridging education and employability with an emphasis on the development of industry-relevant courses.

"The synergies between our EdTech 2.0 vision and the 2023 budget seek to nurture a culture of lifelong learning and upskill India's workforce for the long term. We applaud the 2023 budget as a positive platform for the advancement of India's remarkable human capital," he said. Siya Seth, the founder and CMD of Skoodos, said the announcements made in the budget will bolster the digital economy, a big positive for the EdTech sector.

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"The introduction of the National Digital Library and setting up of District Institutes of Education and Training will take the Indian start-up culture to the next level. "We have less than two decades to capitalise on India's demographic dividend, which will peak in 2041. This can only be achieved by increasing enrolments and improving outcomes, as well as providing online upskilling opportunities at scale," she said.

Prateek Maheshwari, the co-founder of PhysicsWallah, said the announcement on national digital library is a testament to the government's commitment to modernizing and advancing the economy. "As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, the skill enhancement initiative recognises its significance as a necessary tool for future growth and success," he said.

According to Kiran Dham, CEO of Globus Infocom Ltd, the budget focuses on eradicating major challenges prevalent in the education domain and proposes recruitment and training of teachers, improvement of digital infrastructure, encouraging offline as well as an online mode of learning, and most importantly working towards removing the digital divide in the country. "Unlocking the door to delivering excellence, AI-enabled technologies will be the way forward. An effective and engaging platform supporting online, and offline learning will bring a change in the education system in India," she said.