Education can develop intellectual capability in people, which may in turn lead toward development of a more humane society. Open and distance learning (ODL) has provided one means of achieving social objectives democratically. In India significant success has been achieved through a network of 10 open universities and 104 institutes of open and distance education (IODE). Challenge and competition in the education sector have presented a new situation where institutions are now viewed as conglomerates and educational programs as educational products. Established ODL institutions need to compete. The students are perceived as end users or customers in the emerging education market. Institutions require innovative marketing strategies in this highly competitive market for services, and these strategies depend on the stage of maturation of the educational programs in an academic program life cycle (APLC). (Contains 11 figures.)