Is there any future in data science? Is getting a degree of data science from IIT Madras actually helpful? Will it help in the future in any way?

Yes, indeed Data Science is a rapidly growing field with many opportunities for career advancement and personal growth. The steer towards AI has resulted in many product-based companies as well as startups creating Data Science jobs at version levels.

A degree in data science from IIT Madras should be helpful in the future, as it is a well-respected institution with a strong reputation for academic excellence. However, you have to fulfill the requirements below 

• You need to get enrolled in another Bachelor's degree that compliments your online degree. Some examples are BE/BTech CSE, EC, BSc Mathematics, statistics, etc.
• Complete your capstone project of the offline Bachelor's degree in ML, AI, and data science. 
• Completed some personal projects in data science and related fields
• Your offline degree need not necessarily be Engineering or Mathematics.

You cannot compare this online degree with MOOCs, as it is a degree, and the program outcome is vastly different and superior with more knowledge gained. Also, it's the IIT Madras bachelor's degree we are talking about.

Those who are spreading negative opinions on this degree are not aware of the vast areas it covers like line, and quadratic equations to advance topics like graph theory and SQL. Don’t hesitate much and go for the degree without any worries.