This leaves a lot of room for expansion of the private English language training, which in 2010 the British Council called a ‘large and growing market’, estimated to be worth $450million. It has identified significant opportunities for foreign organisations in the creation of new ELT institutions and through joint ventures (JVs) with schools. JVs with big businesses must also be added to the list.

“There is a definite market for foreign ELT providers in India whether they come alone or via joint ventures with local parties,” says Arun Jacob, Managing Director of Array Globe, a pan-Indian education agency. He addd that at present, English teachers are “a scarce resource”. He predicts that English will become a high priority for the government in the next decade and says interest from the young middle class is already huge and growing by the day.

Parul Khuruna, the marketing manager at education agency VIEC, feels only 50 per cent of Indians leave education with English adequate for their careers. He concurs, saying that ELT is a “huge and untapped market. It’s growing each day, especially where there are fewer schools.”

At present most Indians study English within India, with few choosing to travel abroad solely to learn English, traditionally for reasons of cost, and more recently because of the visa restrictions introduced by the UK and Australia. While bigger Indian cities are fairly well covered – though by no means saturated – demand is growing fast in smaller towns and rural areas.

The domestic ELT market is fragmented with numerous smaller operators. Many of these, according to Chris Brandwood, the British Council’s Business Development Manager in India, “may not meet quality levels that would be the norm in Europe or East Asia.” The bigger established players include Indian companies the British School of Languages and Veta, and the British Council, all of which offer a range of courses to cater to higher education seekers, those working in corporate sector and even children.

Launched in 1975, the British School of Languages runs 30 centres and claims to have trained 1.6 million students, while Veta English Language Training, which has 250 study centres, has trained more than 2.2 million. Both have also teamed with businesses to provide training.

The British Council leads the way in terms of reputation

The British Council meanwhile offers ELT courses in its Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai centres, and runs major teacher education initiatives in ELT with state governments, NGOs and other partners. While smaller, it leads the way in terms of brand reputation. Says Khuruna, “There are a lot of such centres which keep mushrooming up and shutting down, hence, centres which are tied with the British Council or a renowned British University will stand apart and look more credible.”

That may be true, but according to Yeddula, there is “scope for more players in this vast market.”

Interest from major international providers has been slow off the mark but is growing. Pearson, in partnership with Indian provider Educomp, launched IndiaCan in late 2009 which now has 67 centres, while Inlingua have 10 centres across the country. Navitas started offering Ielts, GRE, GMAT and Toefl provision through its Study Overseas Global subsidiary in 2010 and covers seven cities. However, others global operators are yet to offer provision.

Some, like Wall Street Institute, state the need to find suitable partners who will help them navigate India’s complex and highly regionalised market. Chris Eden, Senior Vice President International Development at Wall Street, says the Indian market is of “enormous interest” but also that it “is large, well established and complex and as such requires deep local knowledge”.

“large, well established, complex and as such requires deep local knowledge”

Others say India’s working practices and changing economic conditions can pose challenges. “Some of the primary key issues that India is facing which I suspect will become greater over time, is its lack of good infrastructure in both its developed and developing cities,” says Scott Jones, Executive General Manager Student Recruitment at Navitas. “This creates an issue when looking for suitable premises to expand and puts considerable pressure on rents charged by landlords as demand far outstrips supply.

Whatever the challenges, India remains a fertile market for ELT that will continue to grow in the coming decade. Demand exists across the entire sector, counting the corporate space, higher education, government and schools projects, and smaller towns and villages with poor English penetration.

Government will is also strengthening by the day, and business laws for foreign providers are becoming less restrictive in many sectors.