For decades, the Indian education system has had to balance a growing student population with limited resources. Overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and unequal access to quality education have remained persistent challenges, particularly outside major urban centres. Technology has often been presented as the solution, but only in recent years has it started making a visible impact on how education is delivered and experienced.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR), which includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality, are at the centre of this shift. These technologies are moving beyond basic digital learning tools and finding practical applications in classrooms and learning platforms. From personalised learning support and instant doubt resolution to immersive simulations that make complex subjects easier to understand, these technologies are opening up new possibilities for students and educators alike.
AI in education
Usage
AI is finding a growing role in education. One of the biggest advantages of AI is its ability to provide personalised learning support at scale. For many students, particularly those in government schools and underserved communities, access to individual attention from teachers remains limited. Large class sizes and resource constraints often make it difficult to address the needs of every learner. AI-powered tutors are beginning to bridge this gap by offering support that adapts to a student’s pace and level of understanding. Features such as ChatGPT’s study mode, for example, encourage students to work through problems step by step rather than simply providing answers. By guiding learners through questions and hints, these tools can replicate some aspects of one-to-one instruction and help strengthen conceptual understanding.
AI is increasingly being embedded into student learning platforms and classroom environments across India. Edtech companies are driving much of this adoption. Physics Wallah has expanded the use of its AI-powered education suite, Alakh AI, which includes AI Guru, a personalised tutoring assistant that provides real-time doubt resolution and customised learning support to students preparing for school and competitive examinations. The platform is now integrated across the company’s learning ecosystem and is being used by millions of learners.
At the national level, the Ministry of Education and IIT Kanpur have enhanced the SATHEE platform with AI-powered features, including a conversational tutor, personalised learning pathways, doubt-solving capabilities, and performance analytics. The technology is also gaining traction in public education systems. In Telangana, the state government has partnered with organisations such as EkStep Foundation, Physics Wallah and Khan Academy to provide technology-enabled learning support across government schools. As part of the initiative, EkStep’s AI-driven learning platform is being expanded from 540 schools to over 5,000 primary schools, providing personalised learning support. Meanwhile, SATHEE is being adopted on a large scale across government schools and institutions in Punjab, where students are using AI-enabled assessments, mock tests and personalised progress-tracking tools for entrance examination preparation.
Alongside classroom applications, efforts are under way to improve AI awareness and access. In September 2025, Perplexity partnered with AICTE to provide 4 million free Pro licences to students across the country, giving them access to AI-assisted research, information retrieval and learning tools. In addition, the government’s YUVA AI for ALL programme, launched in November 2025 under the IndiaAI Mission, offers a free self-paced course designed to introduce learners to the fundamentals of AI and responsible AI usage, helping build AI literacy among students at scale.
Challenges, concerns and solutions
The biggest debate around AI in education is about how it might change the way students think and learn. Students have begun using AI to complete assignments without engaging with the subject, which can affect the development of reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, the discussion looks very different in a country such as India. Concerns about overdependence are often raised in the context of students who already have access to good schools, private tutors and educational support at home. For millions of others, particularly first-generation learners and students in remote areas, the problem is not that AI is answering too many questions. It is that many students still struggle to find someone who can answer their questions at all. In such situations, AI can serve as an additional source of guidance and support.
This is one reason why calls for outright restrictions on AI have found little support. Most educators recognise that these tools are unlikely to disappear from classrooms or everyday life. The conversation has instead shifted towards helping students use them more effectively and encouraging assessment methods that place greater value on original thinking, analysis and problem-solving.
Immersive learning
Usage
While AI is helping make learning more personalised, XR is changing how students interact with educational content. Instead of learning through textbooks and diagrams alone, students can experience concepts in a more visual and hands-on way. They can explore a three-dimensional model of the human heart, walk through the ruins of an ancient civilisation or carry out science experiments in a virtual laboratory without the costs and safety concerns associated with physical equipment. The research on experiential learning has consistently shown that immersive lessons can improve information retention, with some studies reporting gains of more than 30 per cent compared to traditional textbook-based learning.
Institutions such as UPES, Shiv Nadar University, P. N. National Public School, Bhagwati International Public School and Navyug School have already integrated XR technologies into their teaching environments through dedicated AR and VR laboratories that support immersive learning experiences across subjects. At the higher education level, UPES has established an AR/VR legal simulation lab that enables students to participate in virtual courtroom proceedings and legal simulations, while Shiv Nadar University operates a virtual reality lab that allows students to develop and experiment with immersive applications.
Meanwhile, in 2025, the Coimbatore Corporation announced plans to expand AR and VR laboratories to additional schools across the district following the success of similar facilities in two corporation schools. Similarly, corporation schools in Tambaram, Chennai, announced the roll-out of fully equipped AR/VR smart classrooms, each featuring 30 Meta VR headsets and 30 tablets, with content mapped to the Tamil Nadu state board curriculum.
At the government school level, IIT Guwahati’s Gyandhara project is piloting India’s first VR-enabled metaverse platform across 56 PM SHRI schools in Assam. Further, REC Limited has committed Rs 14 million under its CSR programme for the Green Innovator Immersive Learning Lab project, which will establish XR-based learning facilities across 10 government schools in Haryana’s Karnal district. The private edtech ecosystem is also playing a key role in expanding adoption. Noida-based STEMROBO has been establishing curriculum-aligned AR and VR laboratories across schools in India, with its programmes reaching over 1 million students and teachers at the K-12 level. Meanwhile, the National Skill Development Corporation and EON Reality have partnered to deploy XR and spatial AI learning solutions aimed at strengthening immersive education and workforce training across the country. More recently, the Surat Municipal Corporation introduced multidimensional experience chairs in municipal schools, allowing students to engage with educational content through VR. A dedicated immersive learning lab equipped with five such chairs has been established at a municipal high school in Katargam, enabling students to move beyond conventional classroom instruction and interact with subjects in a fully immersive environment.
Challenges and solutions
XR has shown considerable promise in education, but experiences from other markets suggest that adoption is rarely straightforward. In one case, Greenwood School District’s attempt to build a virtual anatomy lab ran into trouble when expectations between the school and the VR developer did not align. Multiple redesigns followed, extending project timelines and significantly increasing costs, and ultimately forcing the district to scale back its plans. Health and privacy concerns are also attracting greater attention. A clinical study found that immersive VR headset use among young children was associated with higher levels of eye discomfort, head and neck discomfort, fatigue and motion sickness symptoms. Privacy concerns are equally significant. A study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that individuals could be identified with 94 per cent accuracy from just 100 seconds of head and hand movement data collected through a VR headset.
For India, these concerns are particularly relevant. Many schools continue to face connectivity and infrastructure challenges. Cost remains one of the biggest barriers, but there are ways to reduce the burden on schools. Shared-device models, where headsets are used across multiple classrooms, can lower hardware costs considerably. Cloud-based XR applications that run on existing smartphones and tablets can provide a more affordable starting point and reduce dependence on specialised devices. Equally important is teacher preparedness. Training educators before deployment can help ensure that immersive lessons are integrated effectively into the classroom rather than becoming isolated technology demonstrations. The same principle applies to health and privacy. Clear guidelines around age-appropriate use, session duration and break periods can help address concerns related to prolonged headset use. Parallelly, stronger safeguards will be needed around student data. As XR platforms collect increasing amounts of behavioural and movement data, clear rules governing what information can be collected, how it is stored and who can access it will become essential.
Future outlook
The current developments suggest that both policy support and market interest are helping accelerate adoption. The National Education Policy 2020 has encouraged greater use of technology in education. Meanwhile, investor confidence in the sector remains strong, reflected in Physics Wallah’s successful IPO and the public listing plans of companies such as upGrad, Vedantu and Imarticus. These developments are creating a stronger foundation for the use of advanced technologies across schools, colleges and other learning institutions.
However, the bigger challenge now is execution. India does not lack policy intent, pilot projects or technological capability. What will matter is how effectively these ideas are translated into classrooms and institutions across the country. That future, however, will not arrive on its own. The lessons of the post-pandemic edtech boom are still fresh. Digital platforms expanded rapidly, but many struggled when it became clear that technology could not replace the role of teachers, classrooms and peer interaction. The next phase of growth will depend on finding the right balance. Hybrid learning models will need to evolve, regional language content will need to expand, and advanced technologies will have to be designed for the realities of Indian classrooms rather than ideal conditions.
Harshita Kalra
