IIT Kanpur platform logs 154,000 new sign-ups in a week as government plans upgraded national portal by October 2
Registrations for IIT Kanpur’s free online coaching platform SATHEE have surged sharply following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August 15 announcement of a national network for free online coaching, with 154,000 new users signing up between August 15 and 22, against a pre-announcement daily average of just 200-300.
Sign-ups peaked at 41,600 on August 18, up from 5,100 on the announcement day, before tapering to 7,100 by August 22. IIT Kanpur is now working with the Union education ministry to build an upgraded platform featuring improved content, interface and AI capabilities , likely to launch around October 2.
SATHEE project head Amey Karkare said the surge has pushed the team to scale up lecture quality and infrastructure, with ministry support providing additional resources. The platform now has over 2.1 million registrations, with 700,000-800,000 active users and nearly 300,000 daily visitors.
Data shows heavy concentration around JEE and NEET aspirants, who make up 91.5% of registrations, while Punjab alone accounts for nearly 31% of sign-ups, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra. In Punjab, over 500 government schools use SATHEE content in classrooms, and verified JEE qualifiers there rose from 49 in 2024 to 134 in 2026.
Launched in November 2023, SATHEE is expanding physical “Kendras” for students lacking smartphones or internet access, with ten centres already running. The platform still lacks a mandatory final assessment, though Karkare said the new version may introduce outcome tracking via government ID verification and coordination with the National Testing Agency.
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