I have only read part of the article but the common sense answer is no. Children definitely don’t need to learn coding at 4 or 5 before they understand basic maths.

The whole thing is pretty much a scam. Indian edtech companies rely on fear mongering tactics to extract money out of parents who are very much aware of the narrowing of opportunities for prospective employees which their children will be when they come of age. There is no scientific proof of any benefit ofof such courses and there probably won’t be, because as I said, it is a scam. This is a problem that stems from the underlying issue of educational institutions serving the function of manufacturing wage slaves rather than, you know, taking care of children and giving them the room and opportunity to flourish.

Why I say White Hat is a scam is because they were embroiled in controversies lately. One was where they made up a fictitious child who had made a highly valiable fictitious app. Another was when it came to light that their instructors aren’t qualified. The parent company, Byjus, alsp got flak when an audio clip was leaked where a manager was hurling verbal abuses at a salesman for not pushing their product to parents hard enough.

Edit: I really dislike how long this article is lol

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Nope.

Need

There’s quite a few things that should be taught first if we’re addressing ‘Need’. Farming, cooking, a socialist revolution, etc. Coding cannot save Indian children, just as it cannot save US children or US adults for that matter.