Education Technology | Innovations and Insights - Edinbox

Twelve-year-old Jesna Fathima was fluctuating between medicine and teaching as a future vocation when she learned: "If I do engineering, I can do a lot more things." That idea did not pop into her mind randomly, but instead came about because of the STEM camp held in her school by the Centre for Learning Engineering and Sustainable Education and the department of education, under the University of Kerala.

From 2023, the centre has been conducting training camps in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students -- from Class 7 to 9 -- from weaker socioeconomic sections. Already, two camps have been held, one in Kollam and the other in Thiruvananthapuram, the second of which Jesna participated in. The centre plans to conduct more camps, one per district, in this academic year and culminate the series with a project exhibition.

The students, in the camp, were introduced to a whole new world of breadboards, resistors, sensors, and Arduino, where they learned and discovered the fundamentals of robotics, programming, and electronics. Five days of training and the students were requested to pick real-life problems, solutions for which can be discovered using what they learned in the camp. Their problems, from drying clothes during monsoon to potholes on the roads, were sorted and solved with the aid of mentors.

The initial camp, held at the Government HSS, Puthur, during the first week of May, had more than 30 students. "We had already been told by the centre that they don't require a batch of exceptional students, but those who can be developed through a camp like this," said Pradeep B, a school teacher, who accompanied the students during the camp.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal also visited the camp on the final day. Thanks to the camp, the students who shied away from answering questions earlier have now started engaging in the class proactively, Pradeep said. Such camps remain the sole hope for students outside the proficiency belt.

The second camp was held at the Government VHSS, Thiruvananthapuram.

"The centre gives prominence to girls of the marginalised groups through various projects," said Divya C Senan, honorary director, Centre for Learning Engineering and Sustainable Education.

While Artificial Intelligence keeps changing industries, legal education in India will soon be joining the same wagon. In a trend-setting webinar on July 5 organized by The Hindu, top legal minds, tech experts, and policy-makers discussed how AI needs to be ingrained in law schools and professional practice. The three broad categories of consideration: ethics, curriculum, and industry readiness.

India's courts are notoriously backed up, with cases piling up over years, and yes, decades. To attempt to address this, AI systems like Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Predictive Analytics are being implemented to pre-empt mundane work, enhance case tracking, and even aid in legal research and risk assessment.

But in order for law schools to effectively leverage this technology, they need to transform. Speakers at the webinar emphasized that it is only significant to educate future lawyers with digital literacy, legal analytics, and AI ethics within the legal context. Law students, they contended, are not just needed to be instructed on the technicalities of how AI tools function but also critically consider questions on bias in algorithms, data privacy, and the boundaries of automation in justice.

"AI can accelerate legal proceedings, but AI cannot replace human thought where human sympathy and subtlety are concerned," responded a panellist. A response came that AI had actually been used in foreign courts to determine risk at sentencing or locate similar precedents and that India had to play catch-up—morally.".

The reasoning also encompassed whether studying AI would fill the gap between theory and practice. As more law firms begin to use more AI-based research and documentation utilities, graduates who are trained for it will be able to do business on day one and be productive without any delay.

In brief, the webinar was a welcome reminder: AI is no enemy of the legal community—it is a tool that, if utilized in an ethical and effective manner, can expand access to justice. But before it can be, it needs to be educated about, debated, and de-mystified at Indian law schools.

Delhi education minister Ashish Sood on Saturday informed that the city schools would soon boast an advanced education system with artificial intelligence, smart boards, and robots. While addressing a state-run school in Gujarat's Surat, Sood was hopeful that this move would not only improve the quality of education in Delhi's govt schools but also expose students to new technologies.

The education minister toured different classes of the school and saw how the teaching and learning process was being implemented on smart boards. He spoke with students to learn how practical smart boards are and how much education the students gain through this technology. The govt, in a statement, stated the minister also toured the school's AI and Robotics Lab where he saw hands-on projects being executed by students on topics like drones, 3D printers, and sophisticated sensor security systems.

Sood stated even with being the national capital with all the resources at hand, Delhi's government schools had only a handful of smart boards, whereas Gujarat, with all its natural adversities like every year's floods in many districts, has been able to set up more than 1.1 lakh smart classrooms.

The visit of the minister was to see for himself the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and the finer points of education that the various states had adopted. He stated that Gujarat's reforms in state schools were exemplary and other states should learn from them.

Abhinav Lal's passion for computers was ignited in 1998 when his Jharkhand school acquired a computer laboratory. Hours spent at the laboratory assured him that a career in math and computers was his calling. But, oh dear, he could not manage to get into any decent coaching institute to study for IIT entry. Thus, post-12th, he took the second best opportunity that befell him and enrolled in NITK Surathkal in 2005. It was here that he met Shashank ND, who is currently co-founder and CEO at Practo.

During their first year of college, Lal and Shashank were members of the entrepreneurship club 'Euphoria'. Their first event was a trip to the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, for an event where one of the main speakers was Ajit Balakrishnan, founder of Rediff. "We liked when he spoke about building a product and a company," Lal recalls. That encouraged the two to organize similar events.

In the process, they also gained insight into the nuances of starting a company from scratch. There existed a college club called NITK STEP that aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in students. Lal and Shashank, third-year B.Tech students, and a few friends began product development as part of this club in 2008. But, nearly all of those products were "utter failures". This was also the time when the public market crash had occurred.

It was also during this time that Shashank's father underwent a surgery, for which he had to consult several doctors in several hospitals, where he was exposed to the enormous shortcomings of the healthcare sector. Doctors were still prescribing on pen and paper in order to maintain medical records, bills, etc. Yes, the founders were aware of that business opportunity, and by late 2008 had developed a software that would assist doctors in running their practices over the web, an offering which today people refer to as Practo. It was a low-cost, web-based healthcare solution that automated and simplified back-end admin tasks for healthcare practitioners, including appointment management, billing, and inventory management. The product flew out in no time.

But the founders were not satisfied as they thought "it was a very badly built one". The founders decided to rebuild it from scratch in January 2009. The software built from scratch was launched a couple of months later at a big dental conference in Bengaluru. The couple had worked 15-16 hours a day to get ready for the conference but day one was bad as nobody showed up.

But Lady Luck smiled the following day. One doctor purchased it and 100 others wished to purchase it. Abhinav's following test was trying to convince his mother to let him start his business. After she agreed, the founders requested some of their friends to join in and began operating Practo from Shashank's house in JP Nagar, Bengaluru. This was in July 2009. The company was registered and named Practo at that time. "The name Practo had started with practice automation," he informs. They also hired their first team of employees — students from their institute and the RV College of Engineering. The next two years "were a blur" — round-the-clock trips to clinics, selling and polishing the product and doing it all over again every day. While Lal and two others spent their time crafting code, Shashank and the rest were out there — selling.

By December 2009, Practo had about 500 clients in Bengaluru and set out a rough plan of expansion. One member of the team would go to one city, sell the product, and if successful, he would establish a small team there. The next team member would go to the next city. And so on.

No time was taken by Practo in expanding itself in Chennai and Mumbai. By 2010, it had 1,500-2,000 clients. Currently, almost 85% of its revenues come from India business and the balance from other nations, where it has been selling software to clinics and hospitals for 10+ years and has recently launched its doctor discovery marketplace platform in the UAE.

Practo was bootstrapped until 2011. Prior to that, it was incubated in Morpheus Accelerator, where it got to know a pool of investors. It raised its first capital of `25 crore in 2012 from Sequoia. "We still have the print screen of a bank account showing the newly infused money." The company has taken a total of $228.85 million in funding in six rounds so far.

Until 2012, Practo had 30 staff members and 10,000 doctors (users). They had reached a stage where they were capable of creating what they had always wanted — a consumer app. Having taken the doctors online, having made them use technology and open up their calendars, now it was time to improve health care for consumers. "The last 10 years have all been about plugging the gaps."

And now, Practo's B2B is software solutions to hospitals and clinics, and B2C is doctor discovery and appointment booking for minor to severe illnesses, online consultations 24×7, and healthcare plans on a membership model.

PeakXV-backed digital healthcare player will be listed soon and announced its first full-year profit in FY25 driven by 25–30% Y-o-Y growth in its core business.

Over 70% of Indian startups are now integrating AI into core business functions and 67% have adopted omnichannel models to catch up with modern customer journeys that bridge online discovery and offline purchase, a Meta-commissioned report said on Friday.

As India's startup ecosystem moves forward to its second phase of expansion, new enterprises are revolutionizing their growth by digital innovation with AI, omnichannel, creators, and penetration into tier 2 and 3 markets and as much to cross-border geographies, the Meta report in association with premier global professional services provider Alvarez & Marsal India stated.

The research revealed that the startup ecosystem of India has experienced tenfold growth in the last decade with an increase in early-stage funding, digital penetration, and consumer prosperity in the metros as well as non-metro areas.

"In these rapidly changing times we currently live in, thinkahead startups who act fast to innovate will be at the forefront. We, at Meta, are thrilled to be along for the ride, equipping them with cutting-edge AI-powered solutions to grow and realize their grand ideas," said Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President, India and South East Asia, Meta.

Technologies such as AI are also driving the growth of startups and MSMEs within the country.

"We're seeing a significant shift in the manner Indian startups approach scale-not just for growth chasing but building more sustainable businesses with a focus on value creation," Himanshu Bajaj, Managing Director and Head - Alvarez & Marsal India and GCC, said.

AI is emerging as a game-changer for marketing. In marketing alone, 87% of AI adopters experienced a 30% decrease in cost per acquisition (CPA).

Sectors such as healthcare, edtech and beauty lead the way in terms of AI maturity utilizing automation to drive customer service, predictive analytics, and personalisation, the study found.

Tier 2 and 3 markets have become the new playing fields of scale. Nearly all startup businesses polled are expanding into these markets driven by demand, digital penetration, and distribution ease. Service startups are entering these markets nearly a year ahead of product-based counterparts, leveraging WhatsApp, vernacular content, and local influencers to cut through.

Internationalization is no longer the domain of incumbents. The study finds that 52% of startups are expanding cross-border, driven largely by larger total addressable market (TAM) and increasing worldwide demand for Indian-origin goods. The US, Canada and the UAE and UK were the top export markets, as per the report.

India's education industry is experiencing a paradigm shift, and leading the way are a new generation of EdTech startups that are not only bringing classrooms online, but transforming the learning process itself. From personalized learning powered by artificial intelligence to micro-credentialing and virtual learning environments, these startups are revolutionizing how, where, and why one learns.

Forbes recently reported that India's EdTech market will expand to over USD 10.4-billion by 2025, driven by over 37 million paying Edtech users. EdTech has evolved from an add-on support system to a robust learning ecosystem, and it is interesting teachers, schools, and investors globally.

Here are five EdTech startups (names withheld to keep editorial objectivity intact) that are revolutionizing education in 2025 — one in each of their own unique, innovative fashion.

Aasoka

Aasoka is becoming the most disruptive legacy education business by scaling up from 300 schools in 2022 to now over 4,000 partner schools — reaching 9.5 lakh students and 80,000 teachers, and generating over INR 100-crore in revenue within four years. TIME and Statista have designated it the world's best EdTech Rising Star of 2025. The company is definitely revolutionizing learning and education through its screen-free coding kits, AI Powered STEAM labs, and accessible, curriculum-aligned pedagogy for instruction. With roots in India and growing footprints in the Middle East and South Africa, the platform brings purpose and practicality together, providing an integrated ecosystem to empower the students, support the teachers and connect the school leaders and community (parents). In its aspiration of achieving its new vision of 20,000 schools within 3 years, the vision of the platform is worldwide, not national.

Zamit

Zamit is rewriting the rulebook on preparing teachers — and students — for the future. This UK-born edtech platform builds critical 21st-century skills across its Nine Dimensions of Future Readiness model, aligned to India's NEP 2020. With everything from skill-based scholarships and AI-supported student portfolios to language tuition and work-integrated internships, Zamit empowers learners to grow as independent thinkers and confident problem-solvers. Its scope also reaches teachers through the iTERM Programme—a 130-hour CPD-certified programme mapped on the UK's Regulated Qualifications Framework. Covering over 80 teaching excellence competences, it uses a special M-I-M (Measure, Improve, Monitor) model of Zamit to upgrade teachers for future classrooms.

The full-stack edtech organisation Kraftshala

Kraftshala is building a new standard for edtech in result-oriented edtech by combining learning from actual experience with placement accountability. Excels in digital marketing and sales training, Kraftshala boasts a 94% placement rate with over 2,300 students placed successfully in best-in-class roles across India. Its 100% live courses — SEO, performance marketing, content, brand basics, and more — are co-created with industry thought leaders and are structured to marry AI-led strategies with hands-on execution. What sets Kraftshala truly apart is its "do real work" approach wherein students are working on real projects with real budgets under supervision. With fee refund tied to placements and one of the best support systems in edtech, Kraftshala ensures that not just do students learn, but also start their careers sans hesitation.

Testbook

Testbook, a leading Indian EdTech company in Gurgaon, Haryana, is dedicated to enabling students to pass competitive exams through quality and affordable education. With a focus on accessibility, the portal assists learners to study anywhere and at any time to prepare for over 640 exams with more than 52,000 successful placements. Testbook offers online classes, study guides, and complete test series for exams like Civil Services, Banking, and SSC, all mentored by expert faculty committed to student success. Their technology-based approach offers accessible education to a large section of Indians.

EduGorilla

EduGorilla, founded by Rohit Manglik in 2019 in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, has emerged as one of India's leading EdTech brands with over four crore students and 50,000+ teachers reached. It supports students and educators with three key verticals: EduGorilla Publications, offering prep books and study notes; EduGorilla Online Test Series, featuring high-quality test series with an 81% strike rate as well as e-books and live classes; and Gibbon, a whitelabel product helping teachers create their online presence. With over 1 lakh online quizzes for 1,600+ exams and books on 1,000+ exams, EduGorilla is committed to providing price-sensitive quality content, especially to students and educators in Tier II and III cities, education democratization throughout India.

These five EdTech pioneers collectively are not just transforming education — they are making education more democratic, enhancing learning of skills, and preparing learners and educators for tomorrow. While India's EdTech sector strides towards a USD 10.4-billion milestone, these companies exemplify how innovation, accessibility, and measurable impact are building the future of education, not just in India but globally.