YouTube is now offering student discount in India, bringing down the monthly costs to Rs 59 per month for YouTube Music and Rs 79 for YouTube Premium. The student tier plan is valid for the students enrolled in schools and colleges in India that have been marked eligible by Google. It’s 40 per cent less than the regular individual plan while the family plan remains unchanged at Rs 149 per month.
India is one of the most important markets for YouTube, which it has frequently accounted for its overall growth as a music streaming service even though it’s primarily a video-sharing platform. The pricing for students is on par with Spotify, which was launched about a fortnight before YouTube rolled out its premium and music services. Spotify Premium for students costs Rs 59 per month when subscribed while its pay-as-you-go pack is charged at Rs 69 per month.
For students to check their eligibility, YouTube is outsourcing SheerID to verify the details that they have to furnish. Only accredited schools and colleges in India are eligible. In case, a student has subscribed to the regular YouTube Premium or YouTube Music subscription, which costs Rs 129 or Rs 99 per month, respectively, they will have to cancel it to re-subscribe with the student plan. The subscribers will also be able to use the paid services on Google Play Music as part of their YouTube Premium or YouTube Music membership.
India’s online streaming market is growing by the day and is expected to surpass 500 million user mark in the next 2-3 years, according to Nielsen study published last year. YouTube, specifically, is the go-to platform for both music and video streaming in India, thanks to the fierce Internet penetration that Reliance Jio led with its dirt-cheap mobile data plans.