Bengaluru has emerged the top Indian city for online learning with the highest number of registered learners, followed by Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, says a latest analysis of online learning website Coursera.

India is the third largest online learning market with 1.3 million learners after the US and China. The data reveals that an increasing interest in flexible, career-relevant online courses has resulted in a considerable spike in new registrations in India  - 70% over the past 12 months.

“The increase in India registrations over the past year alone illustrates the transformation taking place across the Indian education sector and workplace. Online courses are rapidly growing in reputation, and are being acknowledged as important and legitimate qualifications to help boost career progression. They provide accessible education across geographic boundaries and time zones, without compromising on teaching quality and credential recognition,” said Rick Levin, CEO of Coursera.

Driven by vast interest coming from Bengaluru, India’s technology hub, nearly half of enrolments in India are for technology courses such as computer science (25%) and data science (18%). In fact, computer science and data science courses are more popular in India than in any of the other 10 highest enrolment countries on Coursera.

“The most active online learners in India are entrepreneurial, young professionals in their 20s and 30s who are laser-focused on gaining the technical skills that are sought after by India’s top employers,” added Levin.