In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic brought the economy to a standstill, India’s edtechs had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With educational institutions shuttered, their digital learning solutions were hot property. Investors bet big, valuations zoomed, and edtechs hired entire armies of teachers and salespeople to cash in on the pandemic-induced momentum.

One sliver of the edtech market, however, saw the opposite. For startups focused on preparing students for government tests, the pandemic wasn’t a tailwind but a sucker punch. Tests for most government positions—already sporadic affairs—went on an indefinite hiatus.