Introduction

India holds an important place in the global education industry. The country has
more than 1.4 million schools with over 227 million students enrolled and more
than 36,000 higher education institutes. India has one of the largest higher
education systems in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further
development in the education system.
India has become the second largest market for e-learning after the US. The sector
is currently pegged at US$ 2-3 billion, and is expected to touch US$ 40 billion by
2017. The distance education market in India is expected to grow at a Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 34 per cent# during 2013-14 to 2017-18.
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
The education sector in India is poised to witness major growth in the years to come
as India will have world’s largest tertiary-age population and second largest
graduate talent pipeline globally by the end of 2020. In FY 2015-16, the education
market was worth about US$ 100 billion and is expected to reach US$ 116.4 billion
in FY 2016-17. Currently, higher education contributes 59.7 per cent of the market
size, school education 38.1 per cent, pre-school segment 1.6 per cent, and
technology and multi-media the remaining 0.6 per cent. Higher education system
in India has undergone rapid expansion. Currently, India’s higher education system
is the largest in the world enrolling over 70 million students while in less than two
decades, India has managed to create additional capacity for over 40 million
students. At present, higher education sector witnesses spending of over Rs 46,200
crore (US$ 6.93 billion), and it is expected to grow at an average annual rate of over
18 per cent to reach Rs 232,500 crore (US$ 34.87 billion) in next 10 years.

Companies in kerala investing in educational sector

Muthoot Group
The Muthoot Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in
Kochi, Kerala. It has interests in Financial Services, Information Technology, Media,
Healthcare, Education, Power Generation, Infrastructure, Plantations, Precious
metal, Tourism, and Hospitality. Muthoot Group operates in 29 states in India, and
has presence in Nepal, Sri Lanka, USA, UK and UAE.The group manages assets of
over $4.5 billion. It is owned and managed by the Muthoot Family.
The Group AshoK Jakkula takes its name from the Muthoot Family based in Kerala.
The Company was set up by Muthoot Ninan Mathai in 1887 at Kozhencherry, a
small town in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore (Kerala). It was then later taken
over by his son M George Muthoot who incorporated the Finance division of the
group, which was until then primarily involved in wholesale of grains and timber.
The company is now managed by the third and fourth generation of its family
members.

MUTHOOT INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MITS)

 State-of-the art Engineering College situated in the industrial suburb of
Kochi.
 Full-fledged Engineering College offering specializations across Electronics
and Communication, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics,
Mechanical and Civil Engineering to over 300 students.
 Offering excellent faculty, state-of-the-art infrastructure & extremely
supportive Management with complete freedom to the Academic Team to
develop MITS into one of the best Engineering Colleges in India.
 Approved by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and affiliated
to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala.
 Ranked 1st amongst 43 Engineering Colleges under the MG University in the
very first year of its inception, obtaining a remarkable 84.56 pass %
 Further emerged as Topper in MG University in the 3rd semester for the
2013-2017 batch by achieving a pass percentage of 83.39%
 Highly affordable fee structure at par with Govt.-run institutions.
 Excellent engineering facilities for all specialisations including separate
Hostel Facility for boys and girls.
 Scholarships offered to deservin
 Course offered
 Civil Engineering.
 Computer Science & Engineering.
 Electrical & Electronics Engineering.
 Electronics & Communication Engineering.
 Mechanical Engineering
 g students.

Muthoot College of Nursing, Kozhencherry & Pathanamthitta, Kerala

 Range of full-time courses offered including B.Sc. Nursing, General Nursing,
M.Sc. Nursing (starting soon), Post Basic (starting soon), Medical Laboratory
Technician, Medical Imaging Technology, MBA, Hospital Information
Administration
 Over the years has emerged as a reputed College in the field of Medicine
and Nursing.
 Global reputation of producing top quality nursing professionals preferred
globally across leading international hospitals.

Muthoot College of Allied Health Sciences & Management Studies,

Kozhencherry, Kerala
 Affiliated to Sikkim Manipal University (SMU).
 Offering Under-graduate and Post Graduate Courses in Health Sciences &
Management Studies.
 Courses include MBA, M.Sc., B.Sc., Diploma, Certificate courses & Off
Campus courses.
 Ultra-modern equipment with latest technology available for academic &
practical training.
  Well-furnished classrooms with all sophisticated most modern facilities.
 Variety of teaching & learning techniques adopted to impart knowledge and
skills to students.

ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL, ALAKNANDA

 School ranked amongst the Top 10 Schools of South Delhi.
 Founded in 1962 & managed by St. George’s Education Society, a charitable
non-profit Society chaired by Shri M. G. George Muthoot, Chairman – The
Muthoot Group.
 Foundation stone of the building was laid by former Vice President of India,
Late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma and the new building was inaugurated in
1993 by The Honourable former President of India.
 Led by Dr. Sara George as the Principal, a distinguished academician
honoured by a plethora of awards & accolades of national and international
repute.
 Value-based education imparted through School Motto of 'Mata, Pitah,
Guru & Daivam'
 Committed team of teachers and administrative staff driven the passion for
teaching and love for children.
 School comprises of over 2700 students and 130 dedicated teachers.
 2 extremely well-equipped libraries, 6 laboratories and 5 computer labs.
 Multipurpose auditorium, Conference Room and in-service Training Centre.
 Besides providing facilities for all major sports including Hockey, Football,
Badminton, Table Tennis etc.; the School also has a Basket Ball court
equipped with hydraulic rings with Fibre Board approved by the Basket Ball
Federation of India and a lush green Cricket ground with flood-lights & two
turf wickets of international standard.
 DC books
DC Books is the largest publisher in Kerala, the leading publisher of books in
Malayalam, and one of the ten biggest publishers in India. It also operates
one of the largest book store chains in India, with a network of over 45
bookshops under the DC Books and Current Books brands as well as over 50
agencies in Kerala. DC Books is a publisher and bookseller with headquarters
in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It published over 6500 titles, mainly literature in
Malayalam, but also including children's literature, poetry, reference,
biography, self-help, yoga, management titles, and foreign translations. It
distributes 70% of books across Kerala.
DC Media, is the media division of DC Books. DC Media publishes 5 magazines
namely, Education Insider, Asia's leading magazine on education, Future
Medicine, magazine on Asian medical industry and Emerging Kerala, Kerala's
fastest growing magazine on business, economy and society, Money Indices
and Travel and Flavors. DC Books was founded in 1974 by Dominic Chacko
Kizhakemuri, known as D.C. Kizhakemuri or just DC amongst literary Kerala.
At that time, DC was Secretary of the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana
Sangam, a cooperative venture of Malayalam writers. The society helped
writers with the business and publishing details and instituted a standard
royalty of 30-40%, as well as the system of an 'advance' payment for their
books, financially enabling them to devote themselves to writing full-time.
When he turned his attention to founding DC Books, DC began promoting
and creating markets for its books by organizing festivals, clubs, and pre-
publication subscriptions, and installment schemes.Their successful
bookclub scheme allows buyers to build a library of their own by buying
books on installments. In 1977, Current Books became its sister concern. In
2001, DC Books launched dcbooks.com, an Indian local language bookstore
with over 4,000 titles. In 2004, DC Books partnered with Corner Books to
open a New Delhi branch for Keralites in Delhi.

DC School of Management and Technology (DCSMAT)

It is a management institution with two campuses located in Thiruvananthapuram
and Vagamon in Kerala, India.DCSMAT group of Institutions are promoted by DC
Kizhakemuri Foundation (DCKF) and co-promoted by D C Books. The college located
at Vagamon is affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University and the
Thiruvananthapuram campus is affiliated to the Kerala University. DSCMAT is
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) 'A' grade accredited
institution, approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and is
bestowed with ISO 9001-2000 certification by TUV SUD for process
implementation.
DSCMAT Vagamon campus
 Master of Business Administration (MBA)
 Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)
 Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
 Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
 Bachelor of Fine Arts
 Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (BA Interior Design)
 Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
DCSMAT Trivandrum campus
 Master of Business Administration (MBA)
 Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

Federal Institute of Science and Technology

Federal Institute of Science And Technology (FISAT) is a private, self-financing
engineering college, established and run by the Federal Bank Officers'
Association Educational Society (FBOAES). It is one of the top private
engineering colleges in Kerala. It is an initiative of the Federal Bank Officers'
Association (FBOA), the sole representative body of the entire officers of the
Federal Bank.
FISAT is set up at Mookannoor, near Angamaly in Ernakulam District, Kerala, the
birthplace of the founder of The Federal Bank Ltd, Late K.P Hormis.
 FISAT is affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU), Mahatma
Gandhi University, Kerala and approved by All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE), New Delhi. FISAT conducts six B.Tech. courses in engineering,
MBA programme (with specialization in Finance, Marketing, Human Resource
Management, Information System, Production & Operations Management and
International Business), MCA programme (3 years & 2 yr Lateral Entry) and six
M.Tech. courses. FISAT is accredited by NAAC with 'A' Grade
Courses
The Federal Institute of Science And Technology (FISAT)[2] is an engineering
college approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and
sanctioned by the government of Kerala under ISO 9001:2015 standards. The
institution is affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University for the
following courses:
B.Tech. undergraduate streams:[3]
 Civil Engineering
 Computer Science and Engineering
 Electrical and Electronics Engineering
 Electronics and Communication Engineering
 Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
 Mechanical Engineering (mechfisat.com)
Postgraduate streams:[4]
 M. Tech in Computer Science and Information Systems
 M. Tech in Electronics Communication Engineering
 M. Tech in Power Electronics and Power Systems
 M. Tech in Computer Integrated Manufacturing
 M. Tech in Structural Engineering and Construction Management
 M. Tech in VLSI & Embedded Systems
  Master of Business Administration (MBA)
 Master of Computer Applications (MCA 3-year course)
 Master of Computer Applications (MCA 2-year lateral entry course)

Malayala Manorama
Malayala Manorama is a morning newspaper, in Malayalam language, published
from Kottayam, Kerala, India by Malayala Manorama Company Limited, Headed by
Mammen Mathew .It was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1890, and
currently has a readership of over 20 million (with a circulation base of over 2.1
million copies).] It is also the second oldest Malayalam newspaper in Kerala in
circulation, after Deepika, which is also p. published from Kottayam 9%
According to World Association of Newspapers, as of 2016, it was the fourteenth
most circulated newspaper in the world. According to the Audit Bureau of
Circulations (ABC) 2013 figures, it is the third largest circulating newspapers in India
(behind The Times of India and Dainik Jagran) and largest circulating newspaper in
Kerala.

Manorama School of Communication

It is also known as MASCOM is a journalism school in Kottayam, India. Established
in 2002 by K. M. Mathew with the support of Manorama group, it offers
postgraduate diploma courses in print and broadcast journalism. Educator and
journalist K. Thomas Oommen has served as the director of the institute since its
establishment and has designed the programme for the print course. Over the
years, Manorama School of Communication has been listed as one of the best
journalism schools in India by several media outlets.
Courses offered
 Post Graduate Diploma in Print Journalism
 Post Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism

Labour India Publications Limited

It is an educational publisher based in Marangattupally, Kottayam, Kerala, India. It
publishes educational monthly journals in three languages, for students of pre-
primary level to Plus Two level and entrance exams. It plans to formulate an
educational curriculum of international standard and publishes textbooks and
educational journals.It is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company.
Labour India's publications are sold to CBSE and Kerala syllabus students; they are
currently available to Malayalam, English Medium, and Tamil medium students.
The company also publishes educational VCDs, syllabus based multimedia CDs and
DVDs, and general knowledge books and CDs including Quiz India series and English
and Hindi grammar guides

Labour India Institutes

Labour India Public School is a residential school in Marangattupilly, Kerala, India.
It offers classes from pre-Kindergarten to Junior College. The school system
integrates a sports schedule and community service. It is affiliated with the Central
Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi. Other Institutions : Labour India
Arts & Science College (Affiliated by MG University, Kottayam) - BA, BSc, BCom.,
Labour India College of Teacher Education (Affiliated to MG University) - BEd, MEd.,
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) The is based on the Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi and the text books are as prescribed by the
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The medium of
instruction is English. However, a three-language method is adopted in all classes,
to enable students to be functionally multilingual.

Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala
itis an Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical company situated in Thaikkattussery, near Ollur
(Thrissur, Kerala). It is managed by Thaikkattusseri Eledathu Thaikkattu Family, one
among the Ashtavaidya families of Kerala.Vaidyaratnam runs a NABH accredited
nursing home by name Vaidyaratnam Nursing Home and an Ayurvedic Medical
College apart from two ISO certified manufacturing plants in Thrissur and an R&D
centre in Thaikkattussery, under the flagship of Vaidyaratnam.

Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College

Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College is Ayurveda college situated in Thaikkattussery
near Ollur, Thrissur City of Kerala state. The college is affiliated to the Kerala
University of Health Sciences and offers B.A.M.S. degree (Ayurveda acharya). The
course is recognized by the Central Council of Indian Medicines (CCIM) and is of a
duration of 5½ years and 12 months compulsory rotatory internship.Students are
admitted for the BAMS course from the list of medical entrance examination
conducted by the Government of Kerala. The present intake for the degree
programme is 40 students.
Courses offered
BAMS Degree
The College offers 5½ years' B.A.M.S. (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery)
Degree Course. The Degree programme is in accordance with national unified
syllabus of the Central Council of Indian Medicine. The academic affiliation and
award of degree are entrusted with Kerala University of Health Sciences, Thrissur.
The academic programme is regulated by the norms fixed by the Central Council of
Indian Medicine (CCIM).
Post Graduate Programme
The College offers Post Graduate Programme in Kayachikitsa. The Annual intake is
4 students.

Investment in the Educational sector

The total amount of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflow into the education
sector in India stood at US$ 1,383.62 million from April 2000 to December 2016,
according to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP).
The education and training sector in India has witnessed some major investments
and developments in the recent past. Some of them are:

 KKR and Co Lp, the US-based private equity giant, plans to invest around Rs
700 crore (US$ 105 million) in coaching firm Resonance Eduventures
Limited, which will be used to buy back shares from existing investors and
expand its presence to more geographies.
 UAE-based Gamma Group, outlined plans of investing around Rs 3,000
crore (US$ 450 million) in the infrastructure, health and education sectors
 of Kerala, which is expected to generate around 2,000 indirect and direct
jobs in the state.
 Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research has signed
two memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with Israeli universities,
namely Hafia University of Israel and IDC Herzliya, which includes pledging
cooperation in the fields of study of technology, agriculture, archaeology,
biology, etc.
 International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested US$ 15 million in
education venture Byju’s for a minority stake, which is expected to help the
test-preparation platform to expand domestically and internationally.
 Education technology companies in India raised around US$ 323 million
across 26 deals in 2016, as against US$ 98 million raised through 23 deals in
2015##.
 New York Life Insurance Company, the largest mutual life insurance
company in the US, has invested Rs 121 crore (US$ 18.15 million) in Max
Ventures and Industries Ltd for a 22.51 per cent stake, which will be used
by Max for investing in new focus areas of education and real estate.
 Training and skills development firm NIIT has partnered with US-based edX
to offer online courses from leading international universities including MIT
and Berkeley to about 5 lakh people over the next three years.
 Byju’s, an education technology start-up, has raised US$ 50 million from the
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg,
and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Sofina SA, Lightspeed Venture
Partners and Times Internet Ltd.
 India and Germany have signed an agreement on vocational education and
skill development with a budget of US$ 3.37 million, which will help create
and improve cooperative workplace-based vocational training in India’s
industrial clusters.
 Cisco Systems plans to invest US$ 100 million in India over the next 2 years,
will be used to fund early-stage and growth-stage companies in the
country, open six new innovation labs, three centres of expertise and train
around 250,000 students by 2020.
 Neev Knowledge Management Pvt. Ltd, which offers online and classroom-
based certification courses under the brand name EduPristine, has raised
US$ 10 million from Kaizen Management Advisors and DeVry Inc., which
will be used to increase its course offerings, and increase its presence to 15
cities across the country.
 US based multinational technology major Intel Corporation, has partnered
with Extramarks Education, a digital learning solutions provider, to tap the
US$ 40 billion private school sector in India and thereby provide optimised
learning solutions and extend computing technologies to students and
schools in the country.
 EdCast, a technology education start-up based in Silicon Valley, plans to
invest up to US$ 50 million in education based technology and tie-up with
around 500 educational institutions to build digital content and curriculum
for educational institutions in India.
 Tata Trusts, part of the Tata Group, has entered in to a strategic
partnership with web-based free learning portal, Khan Academy, and seeks
to use technology to provide free education to anyone, anywhere in India.
 Venture capital fund Acumen has invested in two Hyderabad-based
education start-ups—Ignis Careers (US$ 250,000) and SEED (US$
650,000)—working in the low-cost school education space.

Education industry Analysis

India’s education sector offers a great opportunity with approximately 29 per
cent of India’s population being between the age group of 0-14 years. India’s
higher education segment is being expected to increase to US$ 35.03 billion by
2025. 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. As of December 2018, internet
penetration in India had reached 46.13 per cent. Increasing internet
penetration will help in education delivery.

India has over 250 million school going students, more than any other country.
It also has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the
world. 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. 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 2.52
million candidates were trained under under the scheme’s Short Term Training
(STT). The Central Government plans to disburse US$ 1 billion to states for
introducing skill development initiatives. In November 2016, Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship launched Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana, at
a cost of US$ 74.68 million for providing entrepreneurship education and
training to students in the country. Skill India Mission 2015 aims at skilling 400
million Indian youths by 2022. As of December 2018, there were 15,044
Industrial Training Institutes in the India. In October 2017, in order to boost
the Skill India mission, two new schemes, SANKALP and STRIVE were launched
with an outlay of Rs 6,655 crore (US$ 1.02 billion). Revitalizing Infrastructure
and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022 was announced in union budget
2018-19 with an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 15.44 billion) for four years. Skill
India program has benefitted more than one crore (10 million) youth annually.

Education sector in India remains to be a strategic priority of the government.

The Government of India has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in the education sector through the automatic route since 2002.The
sector has received cumulative FDI worth US$ 2.47 billion up to March 2019.
Indian education sector witnessed 18 merger and acquisition deals worth US$
49 million in 2017. In May 2018, the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India launched Samagra Siksha scheme with the
aim of achieving holistic development of school education in the country. The
Government of India is working on the draft of the New Education Policy to
address the changing dynamics in the education industry of the country as per
the requirement of the population. According to Mr Prakash Javadekar,
Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New
National Education Policy draft is ready and would be given to the central
government.

Conclusion
Although investment in the Indian education sector is plagued with challenges,
it offers great opportunity to investors. A number of studies and reports
indicate that strong returns could be expected from the sector. With the
demographic dividend in India at its peak, India’s working age population
almost two-third of the total population and the presence of a severe shortage
of institutions delivering high quality education and training across segments,
what is present before the investors is a timely opportunity. The regulatory
issues associated with investing, extracting returns and exiting are indeed of
significant importance. However, with foresight, strategic planning taking into
account legal, regulatory and tax considerations in dealing with these issues,
investors interested in investing in education can overcome these challenges
and generate favorable returns. The push by the MHRDto allow FEIs to set up
base independently in India (without the need to partner with Indian
institutes), certainly seems like a step towards facilitating foreign participation
in India’s education sector.