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Top 15 Highest Paying Companies for Software Engineers in India 2024

Top 15 Highest Paying Companies for Software Engineers in India 2024

Updated on 07 October, 2024

35.33K+ views

• 9 min read

Table of Contents

Criteria for Selection of the Companies
Why choose a career in Software Engineering?
15 Best Companies for Software Engineers in India
Future Trends in Software Engineering Salaries in India
Conclusion

With Indian software engineers estimated to overtake the number of software engineers in the USA by 2023, the future of software engineering as a career seems to be thriving in India.

Software engineering has been a prominent career choice among STEM candidates for countless reasons. From managing a dynamic role to countless perks offered under reputed companies, the benefits are numerous. However, being one of the most lucrative roles still exceeds to be the number one reason why candidates explore the world of software engineering and development.

Some of the highest paying companies in the world are looking to employ skilled software professionals to contribute to their growth. With the right skills and experience, such as offered under upGrad’s Master of Science in Computer Science from LJMU, you can claim the highest paying software engineering jobs.

Here’s how you can find yourself highest paying IT companies in India!

Criteria for Selection of the Companies

While curating the list of the highest paying companies for software engineers, there is a checklist to keep in mind. The companies must be filtered based on:-

Salary Packages: Companies that offer attractive compensation packages to software engineers are sure to make it to the list. Pointers such as base salary, bonuses, stock options, and other perks too should be factored in.
Reputation: Companies that are known for their excellence in software development, innovation and a positive work environment, too, have much to offer when it comes to employee satisfaction.
Employee Reviews: Reviews and feedback from current and former company employees speak tonne about the work culture, employee satisfaction, work-life balance and salary levels.
Growth Opportunities: Some companies might offer lucrative packages but lack upskilling opportunities. Organisations that offer career advancement, training programs, mentorship, and the chance to work on challenging projects will definitely rank higher on the list.
Employee Benefits: Look into the additional benefits and perks the companies offer. This includes healthcare benefits, retirement plans, vacation policies, parental leave, and other incentives contributing to overall job satisfaction.

Why choose a career in Software Engineering?

Software engineering as a profession will continue to be in high demand as technology develops. To assist them in solving complex computing issues, businesses are continuously looking for competent engineers, simultaneously giving rise to the highest paying Software Engineering jobs in India and abroad.

Software engineering can be the ideal profession for you if you prefer a challenge and enjoy resolving technological issues. Despite the fears surrounding software engineering slowly losing significance, it continues to evolve and predicts a 25% growth in job opportunities in the upcoming years.

Being a Software Engineer has several benefits, one of which is the fact that your abilities and knowledge are highly valued everywhere you go. This entails that working from almost anywhere is not too difficult, giving you all the more reasons why becoming highest paid software engineers is a dream that many STEM aspirants are chasing for a solid reason.

15 Best Companies for Software Engineers in India

Wondering which company pays the highest salary for software engineers? Let us take you through a detailed list of the top highest paying companies for software engineers in India!

1. Flipkart

The Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is one of the leading places for software engineers to seek a career, helping the company manage over 167 million monthly visitors. The company needs hundreds of skilled Software Engineers to keep functions up and running smoothly.

When it comes to their pay, you won’t believe the scale this e-commerce brand has to offer! With an average package of INR 22 LPA for Software Engineers, Flipkart offers a 300% hike from any average Internet company hiring Software Developers.

2. Google

As one of the world’s largest Internet businesses, Google needs many experienced Software Engineers to operate its services smoothly. From entry-level L3 to the highest level, L8, there are many tiers of engineers at Google.

With a whopping average pay scale of INR 44.3 LPA, Google pays its Software Developers 706% more than the trending average salary. No wonder their interviews are one of the toughest to crack!

3. Adobe Systems India

When it comes to the highest-paying companies for Software Engineers, Adobe Systems India is not one to be overlooked. Adobe Systems is distinguished by its reputation for offering a work environment that promotes a healthy workplace culture and encourages work-life balance.

In addition to providing amazing benefits to its staff members, the company boasts INR 29.3 LPA package when it comes to the average pay of a Software E. At the SDE 1 level, a beginner can expect a minimum salary of INR 13.5 LPA.

4. Paytm

Paytm is unquestionably one of the major names among today’s financial services companies. In addition to promoting innovative and intriguing initiatives that present professional advancement opportunities, Paytm offers its Software Engineers a salary of INR 13.27 LPA.

Acquiring a job at Paytm is just a program away, with Full Stack Software Development Bootcamp from upGrad that equips learners with an in-demand dynamic skillset!

5. Oracle

For Indian software professionals looking for a fulfilling career with a global presence, Oracle Corporation is a fantastic option. The business constantly seeks top-tier engineers to join its team and support its innovative culture.

The company offers an average pay of INR 16 LPA to its Software Engineers, about 190% more than the average scale. Oracle also opens up several facets for career development, which further adds to the hype of working here.

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6. Uber

Uber India could be a fantastic choice if you’re seeking the highest-paying software jobs. They have engineers at five distinct levels, with the staff Software Engineer being the highest.

With a pay scale of 1481% greater than the average, Uber offers a lucrative package of more than INR 85 LPA to its Software Engineers.

7. Amazon

Amazon, one of the largest tech companies in the world, has a four-tier system for its Software Engineers, from SDE 1 to Principal SDE. It is a sought-after workplace location since employees are well-compensated with attractive pay and first-rate perks.

A Software Engineer at Amazon India is offered an average package of about INR 30 LPA. No wonder the company houses some of the most promising Software professionals in the world.

8. Capgemini

A great place to work for Software Engineers in India, Capgemini is recognised for offering flexible work schedules and generous leave policies that promote a healthy work-life balance.

The smartest and brightest engineers are always sought, and Capgemini is known for its proactive approach to hiring them. Capgemini offers its Software Engineers an average salary of INR 4.5 LPA with added perks.

9. Microsoft

Microsoft is a well-known tech company with the highest Software Engineer salary. What genuinely sets Microsoft apart from its competitors is the constant commitment to employee development and the job security it offers.

With an average pay scale of INR 29 LPA, Microsoft also rewards their employees with lucrative perks.

10. Infosys

India-based Infosys has been in business since 1981 and is a well-known software provider. It’s one of the biggest participants in the sector, employing more than 190,000 people worldwide.

The business also provides competitive salary and benefits packages for its staff, boasting an average salary for its Software Developers at INR 7.7 LPA.

11. TCS

Unquestionably a household name in the Indian software industry is Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). They are well known for offering various services, including outsourcing, IT consulting, and software development.

The average salary for a Software Engineer at TCS is around INR 5.7 LPA. Additionally, TCS provides various career advancement opportunities that let you climb the corporate ladder and realise your professional goals.

12. Wipro

Wipro Ltd. may be the ideal employer for you if you want to be one of the highest paid Software Engineers in India. Wipro is unquestionably a business to consider, with a strong emphasis on innovation and a track record of offering outstanding work-life balance.

Wipro’s variety of employee benefits makes it stand out from other businesses. The company offers an average salary of INR 6.9 LPA to its Software Engineers, making sure to only hire the very best talent.

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13. Tech Mahindra

The dedication to staff development at Tech Mahindra makes it one of the most desirable employers. It provides a range of training and development opportunities so that staff members can keep up with the most recent developments in technology and market trends.

With an average salary of INR 5.4 LPA, Software Professionals working for Tech Mahindra have a bonanza of opportunities to upskill themselves.

14. HCL Technologies Ltd.

HCL Technologies Ltd. is a terrific option if you’re a Software Developer searching for a top-tier business in India. With competitive pay, extensive benefits, and a good work-life balance, this organisation looks out for its staff.

HCL Technologies is also famous for its cutting-edge technology; thus, its engineers are constantly abreast of the most recent developments in their industry. The average salary for a Software Engineer or a Developer at HCL is more than INR 4.5 LPA.

15. Cognizant

Software engineers seeking employment at a prestigious multinational software company frequently choose Cognizant.

In order to produce cutting-edge software, Cognizant is dedicated to innovation and actively seeks the greatest personnel. The average salary for a Software Engineer at Cognizant is around INR 7.65 LPA.

Future Trends in Software Engineering Salaries in India

In their recent report, the World Economic Forum detailed that Software Engineering has been one of the top 5 emerging job domains in India.

As the number of IT companies continues to increase, there is a corresponding rise in the demand for software engineers. Software engineering serves as a crucial link between the IT industry and computer science, with engineers playing a pivotal role in this connection. As technology continues to advance rapidly, the result is an automatic increase in job opportunities within the software engineering sector.

This growth leads to more job openings and impacts the pay scale within the industry.

Conclusion

There are numerous opportunities for professional growth and development in the discipline of Software Engineering. The high demand for Software Engineers bodes well for future job opportunities. However, you can further enhance your chances of getting your dream job in Software Engineering with the appropriate training and preparation, such as offered under leading upGrad programs like the Executive PG Programme in Full Stack Development from IIITB.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which organisation offers the best salaries for Software Engineers?

The top firms that provide Software Engineers with the highest salaries are Google, Apple, Facebook, PayPal, Netflix, and Amazon.

2. What do Software Developers get paid?

Ambitionbox says the average annual pay for Software Engineers in India is INR 4.5 LPA. Entry-level Software Engineers can expect to make a minimum of INR 1.8 LPA.

3. Which engineer earns the highest salary?

Full-stack developers, data scientists, software architects, SQA engineers, Android developers, DevOps engineers, application security engineers, and cloud engineers are some Software Engineering positions with the highest salaries.

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There is really no secret sauce for success. Provided you have had the opportunity to view the exclusive online tete-e-tete sessions brought to you by UpGrad Talks. With an amazing roster of world-class speakers, some from the top 1000 companies of India such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Sky, Coca Cola, JP Morgan, JWT to start-up poster children such as RedBus, Snadeal, Ola & Zivame and many more, Upgrad Talks provides insights into their formulae for success. The talks also share deep learning from situations that didn’t work out and many valuable nuggets of honest, down-to-earth and practical advice from successful entrepreneurs, experts and industry leaders. While some lip service has been paid to new-age technologies and skill sets, and the evolution of industries because of these, a deeper understanding of what this signifies is missing. Upgrad Talks intends to fill this gap by bringing together thought-leaders from different walks of life and raising the level of discourse in this area, as they share their experiences. Here are the top reasons why you must visit talks.upgrad.com today and make it your daily source of insights and motivation: Get Inspired Inspiration can come from many different sources. You may get inspired when you see a problem that needs a solution, which you are able to ideate, or get inspired when you hear stories of adversity being overcome by sheer willpower. Rarely does the simple existence of wealth inspire us. It may motivate us to work harder, but inspiration stems from a deeper place that needs real stories. Upgrad Talks are stories from the folks who have lived these stories, first hand. Not only does hearing someone’s complete story of challenges, thought process and subsequent outcome inspire, it also gives birth to new ideas and provides impetus to grow in your own space. Moreover, inspiration also stems from well-put statements such as, ‘attitude will sail you through,’ by Harit Nagpal, CEO of Tata Sky. A key benefit of listening to industry leaders is that it also inspires us to think. ‘What we think, we become,’ is a quote by Buddha that sums up this well. Go ahead, face challenges It does not matter if you are a startup or an established financial organization; challenges, big or small, exist in every level of most businesses. Challenges faced, strategized and overcome is the rite of passage for almost everyone. Not only do Upgrad Talks cover challenges faced by leading industry veterans, it also covers it from various stages of businesses along with discussion of the solutions that helped overcome them. Upgrad Talks speakers’ discuss challenges faced by businesses in different spaces, which makes these talks an interesting listen. Furthermore, is quite motivating to hear the candid conversations of business leaders. So what is the common thought on challenges in the Upgrad Talks? No challenge is too big. It also strengthens the belief that challenges help you grow and become stronger and develops a sense of confidence to take on the next big challenge. Learn from influencers People who can motivate are great influencers. To hear success stories at Upgrad Talks, which have been driven by deep-rooted passion as well as courage of conviction can be a great influence on most people. It is likely to help you push yourself to greater heights and also follow your dreams a bit more diligently. To quote Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl, ‘ there is a fine line between stubbornness and persistence.’ Upgrad Talks is likely to help you define the lines as an excellent selection of influencers talk also about the key soft skills required to make it a significant mark on the industry that you belong to. Mentoring As you listen to entrepreneurs, business leaders and experts on models that have worked, one can also start drawing parallels to one’s one business or profession. Mentoring of this kind is both subtle and effective as it helps you choose some key takeaways from the shared experiences that are most relevant to you. Follow the series to get premium access to the best mentors in the country as they talk about education, the emerging digital age and its impact on businesses, talent shortages and advice to youngsters. A bit of crystal gazing In the series of Upgrad Talks, one is likely to come across a vast amount of business knowledge which has been converted into digestible insights that can also help you choose the next steps in your career. Speakers’ at Upgrad Talks share their business mantras and what the future is likely to be. This is crystal gazing of the finest variety and yet another reason to tune into the talks. A healthy dash of optimism One of the unique selling points of the Upgrad Talks is that they also brings out the combined optimism in business from key industry leaders. Apart from that one can learn what is next in the industry, and explore potential future opportunities in the workspace. The upbeat and positive nature of these talks makes them a must-listen. Easily available online Just in case you were wondering how far you would need to travel to listen to such a wide range of speakers, you can breath easy. Upgrad Talks are delivered online and you can listen to them at your own convenience. All you need to do is to long onto talks.upgrad.com and you can access high quality, pre-recorded sessions online. Upgrad is making content richer, bigger and better as it kicks off with 15+ talks delivered by entrepreneurs, experts & business leaders. You definitely do not want to miss out on the educational transformation that UpGrad is fuelling in partnership with some of the greatest minds. Remember, one can never stop learning. So, if you always aspired to hear great advice and insights from the top Indian business leaders on how you can grow your business, choose a career goal or get inspired, do take a look at Upgrad Talks. They are truly the voices that impact. Join us today and be a part of it at talks.upgrad.com.

by Omkar Pradhan

06 Aug'16

5.37K+

Evolving online education: Learning Together

Technologies in online learning have been making promises since early 20th century. From radio to present day MOOCs, multiple new technologies were seen as silver bullet in revolutionising education. These promises were indeed laudable, to make education accessible to everyone, affordable for everyone and more effective. Yet, the same history of unmet expectations has been repeated every time*. Although a lot has happened over the past decade in terms of growth and expansion of online education, there are many challenges yet to be solved before we can say online learning has truly arrived. We, at UpGrad, believe the following three challenges are the biggest hurdles to the success of online education. Isolation: Online learning is solitary experience Acceptability: Online learning’s validity in the Job Market Not Engaging: Interplay of distractions and motivations in learning online The dismally low completion rates and high failure rates are reflection of these challenges [1]. Our goal at UpGrad is to fight these challenges and provide an unmatched learning experience for the working professionals. We believe, with the flexibility of online learning, every working professional can “UpGrade” himself without going back to full-time formal education. Hence, we need to to make online learning mainstream. In this article we would be sharing how are setting the online learning as a ‘Social Experience’ for our students, ie the first of the three mentioned challenges. In 2000s, internet surfing was mainly an individual experience and on the other hand, in 2016 almost all of internet time is a social experience. We do not feel alone in 2016 version of internet. We believe online education will have much higher engagement and completion rates once it becomes a social experience. An average student’s e-learning journey is an individual experience making him/her feel isolated. Learners move through the course with limited interactions with both their instructor and classmates. We at UpGrad, are building a new learning platform specifically designed keeping our students and their needs in mind. We believe this would be key to provide the kind of engagement levels the students deserve. The perception of social presence (or lack of) is a big concern among students and teachers in online learning. Teachers develop courses in isolation and the students take the courses in isolation. Researchers have found strong correlation between the sense of social presence facilitated by the course and student’s perceived learning [3,4,5]. Also there is good re correlation between withdrawal in the course and student’s perceived lack of social interaction and instructor presence [3]. Lack of social interaction in e-learning increases the distraction, since a learner would look for social interaction elsewhere which is usually Twitter, Whatsapp or Facebook. If there is another learner doing the same course in my apartment building, there are limited chances that I would know about him. As learners of online courses, we are oblivious of everyone else’s presence except few replies on the discussion forum. They do form Facebook groups or Whatsapp groups organically, yet the whole online learning format ends up being mostly a solo experience. Here are the steps we are taking at UpGrad in making our online programs a social experience.: Profiles : The first step in ‘social’ e-learning is knowing your classmates. We have learner profiles with education and work history along with other details. Almost everyone is encouraged to fill in their full profile along with a descriptive ‘bio’ section. There are multiple points where learners are nudged to click on the profiles. To improve discoverability of relevant profiles we not only leverage cohort social graph but also use interest graph, performance graph, complementary skills graphs. Combined with other semi random** algorithms like who was recently online, learners bump into each other in interesting ways. In the first month of Data Analytics Program, an average engaged learner viewed peer profiles 110 times. Discussions: We have a discussion forum which is contextual and relevant to the course content. We designed it from the ground up to involve learners during the course. They help each other, solve doubts, ask questions, have healthy debates on the forum. Only when there is no consensus a Teaching Assistant gets involved in clearing the doubts. Last 3 months data shows that on a daily basis 50% of the students who are engaged on the platform, also engaged actively on the discussion forum. As most professionals have different backgrounds, sharing of experiences on the forum is much valuable to everyone in the cohort. We have seen learners fall into three buckets on the forum. First is the majority producers, the top 30% of forum content producers are responsible for around 70% of the discussions. The next 50% do the rest of 30% of the content but continue to voice their opinions through upvotes. Rest of the 20% are mere observers. These numbers are highly encouraging and we will be investing more time in finding out how student-student social interactions can help in overall engagement. Figure 1: Forum topic distribution in one of our programs. Share in the pie is (questions * votes) for each topic. Bigger share of the pie is a proxy for doubts. This lead us to start live sessions on those topics. Thought Leader AMAs: Initiating and maintaining engagement on the forum is hard. To set the ball rolling, we started the discussion forum for a new cohort with getting a thought leader to do an AMA on the platform. This way not only the students got a product onboarding experience but also the social expectation was set amongst the peers. In some months, the total content creation during AMAs ended up around 20% of the total cumulative content. We also observed a side benefit of starting the program with thought leader – that learners are more helpful, behave with more civility and show much more respect for each other. This is not very unusual because it is known that a group’s eventual social dynamics are very much impacted by behaviour in initial few days. In a way, it sets the trend which follows upto the end of the course. We also explored bringing in external motivations to see how does it impact on engagement levels. At times, there were small gifts for top forum contributors and at times we included forum participation in the grading. Our primary observations show that this is to be used cautiously. We are working on establishing a balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for social involvement. Facebook Groups: For all cohorts we have Facebook groups for students apart from the platform discussion forum. We were not very confident how much our forum will be used for non academic discussions and generic social sharing. However, we found more and more discussions of generic nature and sharing of articles & blogs also started happening on the forum. Hence facebook group ended up becoming redundant. We are thinking of doing away with a cohort’s facebook group with this expanded use of discussion forum In summary, having a strong sense of community within the students is a big predictor of learning outcomes. This has been researched multiple times [7, 8]. Our platform’s usage data of course progress and social interaction activity strongly confirms this research. At a time, a learner who is socially engaged on our platform has usually completed 4 times (Figure 2) course materials than a learner who does not participate in social discussions. This high correlation has been repeated across multiple cohorts. Figure 2: At a snapshot of time course completion rates for learners active on forum vs non active. Apart from the student isolation e-learning content creators and facilitators tend to work in isolation, reflecting and sharing of best practices is minimal[6]. We at UpGrad are aware of this problem, and making sure different program teams collaborate and share solutions to common problems. We do not have complete solution to isolation in learning yet. We as a company are focussed on solving this problem, we are testing out few ideas and are willing to share the results with the community. With these changes we are expecting online learning experience to be more engaging, more involving and eventually pushing up the low completion rates of online learning. These are early days of online education and we have miles to go. Bibliography [1] http://collegequarterly.ca/2007-vol10-num03-summer/rolfe.html [2] Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities, The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 13, No 1 (2012) [3] Tello SF (2007). An analysis of student persistence in online education. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education [4] Herbert, M. (2006). Staying the course: A study in online student satisfaction and retention. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 9(4). [5] Morris, T. A. (2009). Anytime/anywhere online learning: Does it remove barriers for adult learners. In T.Kidd (Ed.), Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices. Hershey, PA:IGI Global. [6] Duncan, H & Barnett J (2009) Learning to teach online. [7] Kaulback, B (2015). Learning Together : Community and Network from the perspective of designers of online learning. (Doctoral dissertation) [8] Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R. M., Surkes, M. A., & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243–1289.

by Ankit Mittal

08 Aug'16

898.95K+

Skill deprivation: Education alone won’t guarantee a job, in-demand skills need of hour

If you are 25 years old, hold a degree in a traditional arts discipline from a well-regarded institute and are looking for a job, you may not be handed one on a platter any time soon. You may be cushioned within the famous Indian demographic that is supposed to yield a ‘dividend,’ but unlike what you’ve been reading everywhere, this does not guarantee you employment. Between 1980 to 2010, 90% of world labour force growth occurred in developing countries and about 500 million new workers emerged in India and China alone (workers went from 260 million to 470 million in India, between this period). India is all set to power most of global growth in labour in the coming years. Enrolment in Indian higher education is 24% right now. With India attaining almost universal elementary education, and increased retention in secondary schools, the projected demand for higher education and jobs will only escalate. India has finally been placed on the world map with a solid advantage where labour supply is concerned. Impacting Education: My Journey and UpGrad It’s not all good news though. Indian millennials are being touted as the future of jobs and the saviours of the working world. But this won’t hold true if in-demand skills are not imparted to the youth entering the workforce. The world of work is changing and industries are transforming. It’s a fact that we are moving towards a massive labour pool, but we are possibly riding a low-skill, low-wage cycle to get there. The country is on a trajectory that involves a surplus of millions of low-skill workers, whereas most nations, including India, will be demanding high-skill workers more and more. Most industries are replacing low-skill jobs with high-skill ones. Skills relating to upcoming technologies in advanced areas – think AI, robotics, data science and mining – are gaining immense relevance. Unfortunately, our education system is not preparing students well enough to enter the workforce as high-skill workers nor equipping them with skills in emerging domains. Curricula is outdated and pedagogy poorly-developed. Gone are the days when just holding a graduate degree was enough to get employers to clamour to hire you. Education is not enough. The new-age job-seeker must strive to acquire specific skill sets to be considered employable (currently only 43% of Indian youth are considered fully employable). This applies to all sectors of the economy, as most industries and businesses are adopting new-age technologies and going digital within most functions. There’ll Be A Billion-Plus Job-Seekers By 2050! The positive connotation associated with our demographic shift has been taken for granted and assigned the term ‘dividend.’ But if we don’t strategically harness this change, we could easily be faced with a demographic disaster. We don’t want to be stuck in a situation where we have too many job-seekers with inadequate skills, and therefore not enough jobs for them. India is moving workers out of farm jobs at a very fast rate, and this will only add to the burden of providing jobs in other sectors. Realising this, even the government has begun focusing on skill development and training. Creating an entirely new Ministry and launching the Skill India Mission are clear indications of this. Another sign that skill training is gaining momentum is reflected in the growth of the Indian education and skills industry at an average rate of 13% over four years. From Rs 1.21 trillion in 2008 to Rs 2.35 trillion in 2012. However, these measures have not been enough to successfully skill India’s young. Only 2% of the Indian workforce has received some kind of formal skills training so far, and 8% have received informal training. Comparatively, 47% of China’s workforce is skill trained, 52% in USA, 68% in UK, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. Almost half of Indian employers find it difficult to fill jobs and a similar proportion of employed youth suffer from some degree of skill deprivation. By 2050, India will be home to more than a billion jobseekers. This means providing jobs for over 12 million new entrants annually. There is also the challenge of finding jobs for the backlog, which reached 60 million by 2014. The pace of accretion to the labour market will keep increasing, given our demographic profile and declining age-dependency ratio. Our working age population (15-64 years) will peak in 2050 and till then pressures for jobs will only become worse. We need a wake-up call and more concerted efforts towards large-scale skill development and training. We may have a situation of too few high-skill workers and not enough jobs for medium or low-skill workers. This needs to be rectified by adjusting the education and skilling system to ready ourselves for the jobs of tomorrow. Article Source: http://www.firstpost.com/business/skill-deprivation-education-alone-wont-guarantee-a-job-in-demand-skills-need-of-hour-3020568.html

by Apoorva Shankar

08 Nov'16

5.13K+

Why The Growth Of Higher Education In India Hinges On The Private Sector

For the sake of simplicity, let’s say that the public sector’s role in education can be identified as a three-fold one. Firstly, it is tasked with universalizing access to education. Its next responsibility would be to regulate the sector and finally, to ensure quality education for all. In the context of the access provider role, estimates show that just in terms of physical infrastructure, more than a US $100 billion spends would be required in higher education alone, to double enrollment, from where it stands today (24%). Where regulation is concerned, bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other higher education regulators are in-charge but leave much to be desired in terms of quality checks and monitoring, accreditation, etc. In fact, the UGC merely acts as a grants disbursing body now for universities and colleges, rather than a regulator. This is despite the fact that about 16% of the Ministry’s budget (2016-17) was allocated to UGC. Regarding quality, the government struggles to set standards and measure outcomes. Accreditation in the country is irregular and sub-optimal. In addition, unlike school education, where a certain level of learning outcomes may be gauged, this is difficult to do in higher education – especially assessing employability of a student post completing such education. So is there a role the government should prioritise? Further, because the government is entrusted with these roles, does it necessarily mean that they are its exclusive mandate? Or should the government act as an enabler and allow external participation if it means better execution and a higher success rate? The education and training industry is extremely large today and has strong further growth potential. With total educational spending of $2.7 trillion, the industry accounted for about 4.25% of the world’s GDP in 2010. In India alone, the spending on education and skilling has touched approximately Rs 74,000 crore. This may seem like a daunting figure but is still not sufficient. India spends about 4% of its GDP on all of education (about 1% on higher education), whereas globally the minimum recommended expenditure on education is 6% of GDP. Most of the public expenditure on higher education is used upon salaries and maintaining existing institutions, leaving very little to be spent on curriculum, research, and technology. However, spending on education still has enormous scaling to do and this is where the private sector comes in. Private players will have opportunities from rising demand in segments not well covered by the public education system (like adult education and vocational training). They bring in additional capital and are able to make huge investments, especially when government spending is insufficient and results in substantial infrastructure and investment deficit. For instance, the government had set a target of achieving a 30% enrolment ratio in higher education by 2020. The enrolment ratio currently is 24%. Judging by historical trends, and the current pace of rising enrolments, this target seems difficult to achieve. We may need a better, plan to succeed. Plus, the demand for higher education is only set to accelerate with growing population, higher enrolment as well as retention of students in schools. The private sector could play a crucial role in plugging these gaps and matching demand. In fact, it is already capturing the market in a big way, as can be seen in the adjacent graph. Enrolment in, and share of, private higher education institutions has surpassed that of government institutions (data as on 2013). Even the online education market in India expected to grow to US $40 billion by as soon as 2017. Unlike the education sector, which is legally mandated to operate on a not-for-profit basis, for-profit skill training institutes can be set up. This, coupled with initiatives of the National Skill Development Corporation, has encouraged the private sector to set up vocational training institutes. Corporate interest has also increased in the skill development space because of the benefits that accrue to businesses themselves, in the form of adequately trained manpower as a ready pool for future hiring. Majority of institutions offering professional disciplines are now in the private sector. There is a tendency of the public sector to view the private sector’s involvement in the education space with scepticism. But the private sector is necessary because of its ability to match industry demand for superior skilled manpower. It supplements infrastructure, facilities, technology and pedagogy and has an added advantage of escaping bureaucratic control and retaining autonomy to a large extent. Private players often collaborate with reputed international universities for faculty and other benefits which can be attractive to prospective students. They are also heavily investing in research-based education. As consumers of skilled manpower as well, the private sector is in a position to understand what type of skill training is to be imparted, and eventually benefit from it. This makes skill-training more efficient and effective. All three education-related roles of the government are equally important. However, while regulation should remain outside the purview of the private sector, nothing should stop them from assisting the public sector in maximising enrolments and improving quality of education. Public needs to work with private and create a level-playing field, in order to uplift the overall quality of education. Article Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/mayank-kumar/why-the-growth-of-higher-education-in-india-hinges-on-the-privat/

by Apoorva Shankar

08 Nov'16