More than a decade ago, I had to commute eight kilometres to reach my school. Carrying a bag full of books, I would cover half of the distance by walk and the rest by running, because, reaching the school after the first-bell was almost a crime. Today, I am still learning, but I do not commute daily with a bag full of books. Through one of the prominent online learning portals, I have enrolled in a short-term programme on 'Journalism for Social Change,' conducting from the University of California, Berkeley. Reaching the classroom on time is not a matter of concern for me now, as my lessons are available 24x7, on my fingertip, away from a click.

While more students prefer to take online courses at both online and brick-and-mortar institutions, digital learning is on the rise today. India has enormous potential to become the largest market for eLearning, as we are moving in the direction to host the highest number of young population in the world. According to a research conducted by KPMG, along with the insights from Google search, online education in India will be a USD 1.96 billion industry by 2021. The report finds that the paid user base will grow 6X from 1.6 million users in 2016 to 9.6 million users in 2021. It is also fascinating to see that 44 percent of education searches are now coming from beyond the top six metros in the country.

With the proliferation of online education providers in the country, comes the difficulty of choosing the right portal. To ease the process of finding the perfect partner for virtual learning, we have come up with 'Top 10 Promising Digital Learning Portals in India – 2017,' which are providing an education that is instant, online, self-driven and on the go. On the cover, we feature NeoStencil, a unique online learning platform that helps IAS aspirants to achieve their dreams without a skip in their way of life.

Enjoy Reading.