New Delhi: “Padho chahe kahin se, Manzil milegi yahin se (No matter where you study from, you will find success here alone),” reads the YouTube channel cover photo of the Physics Wallah (PW) channel.
Started in 2015 by Alakh Pandey, a teacher from Uttar Pradesh, PW began as a YouTube channel teaching physics to students preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medicine.
The pandemic-induced lockdown gave a big boost to the channel and Pandey’s videos started going viral, with each garnering 2-3 lakh views. Along with co-founder Prateek Maheshwari, Pandey developed an app for students in 2020. The same year, PW was launched as an ed-tech firm.
In June last year, PW joined the unicorn club with a valuation of $1.1 billion, according to reports. (A unicorn is a privately-owned startup worth at least $1 billion.) The firm also has 10.4 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.6 million followers on Instagram.
The PW homepage says it provides “affordable and comprehensive learning experience to students of classes 6 to 12 and those preparing for JEE and NEET exams”.
As of November 2022, it also had 20 offline centres for JEE and NEET preparation in 18 cities across the country, according to media reports.
Last October, PW entered the UPSC tutoring sector, pegged at Rs 3,000 crore in 2018, with a vertical called UPSC Wallah to provide online coaching.
Simultaneously, it joined hands with OnlyIAS, a popular YouTube channel run by Sumit Rewri who mentored aspirants, to offer offline tutoring for civil service entrance exams. The first such centre of OnlyIAS by Physics Wallah (PW-OnlyIAS) was opened in Karol Bagh this April.
Speaking to ThePrint, Pandey said, “As we plan to open centres in Pune, Allahabad, Indore, Jaipur, and more cities, we are committed to investing Rs 100 crore in building our UPSC prep vertical over the next three to five years.”
“With over 100,000 online enrollments and 1000+ students studying with us offline, we are determined to empower aspirants for UPSC and state PSC exams,” he said.
“At PW-OnlyIAS, we will provide UPSC aspirants the best technology-enhanced educational content. I am positive that PW-OnlyIAS will bring much-needed innovation that students demand,” said Rewri, also the chief executive officer of PW-OnlyIAS.
PW-OnlyIAS
An IAS aspirant himself, Rewri, who hails from Haryana, launched OnlyIAS as a YouTube channel while preparing for the exam in 2016. He has faced the UPSC interview panel — the last stage of selection — twice before he changed his mind and decided to coach full-time.
Speaking at the merger last year, Rewri had said, “I am excited about the opportunity as it will allow me to bring innovation to UPSC preparation. As an educator, I will focus on aspirants receiving the best mentoring and direction.”
On the offline venture, Rewri said to ThePrint, “PW-OnlyIAS developed an innovative strategy using the CTR technique (Class, Test, Revision) with its offline vertical after careful planning and analysing UPSC aspirants’ needs.”
“Students trust our online content. Offline classes will allow them to interact with the faculty and get one-on-one mentorship,” he added.
PW-OnlyIAS plans to open another offline centre in the national capital in Mukherjee Nagar where courses will be taught in Hindi. Offline centres are also planned for Pune, Prayagraj, Indore, and Patna.
“We have a faculty training programme for all the teachers joining PW-OnlyIAS so that they use the same methodologies, irrespective of their location. When hiring teachers, we will ensure that they have the necessary qualifications, experience, and passion for teaching,” Rewri said.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)