Lok Sabha Question No. 4274 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-22
Subject: Female Literacy
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Shobha Karandlaje

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4274 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2021

## Female Literacy

## 4274. KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION शिक्षा मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) the percentage of female literacy in the country as per the 2011 Census;
- (b) whether  the funds  for the National  Scheme  for  Incentive to Girls for Secondary  Education  have  been  reduced  to  just  Rs.  1  crore  from  Rs.  110 crore in the current fiscal;
- (c) if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  functioning  of  the  scheme and the amount allocated to the scheme during the last three years;
- (d) the steps taken to operationalise the Gender Inclusion Fund promised in NEP 2020 along with the objectives and coverage of the scheme;
- (e) the amount provided to eligible girls and the eligibility criteria during the last three years; and
- (f) whether the Government is redesigning the scheme to make it more effective and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

- (a) As per Census 2011, the female literacy rate in the country, in the age group of 7 and above is 64.63%.
- (b) The scheme  is being redesigned based on the recommendations of Expenditure  Finance  Committee  (EFC)  in  the  year  2017.  Subsequent  budget allocation  was  used for clearing  the  backlog  only.  Hence  the  budget  was  reduced during 2020-21.
- (c) The  scheme  was  evaluated  in  the  year  2020-21  by  Institute  of  Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi for reviewing the performance of the scheme and also to find out the gaps and challenges in the implementation of the existing scheme. The amount allocated for the scheme during the last three years is as follows:
- (d) National Education Policy, 2020, provides for setting up a Gender Inclusion Fund (GIF) especially for girls and transgender students to build the nation's capacity to  provide equitable quality education for all girls as  well as transgender students. The  Department's  initiatives  towards  GIF  and  preparation  of  its  guidelines  are underway.
- (e) According  to  the  scheme,  a  sum  of  Rs.3000/-  is  deposited  in  the  name  of eligible unmarried girls as fixed deposit on enrolment in class IX, who are entitled to withdraw it along with interest thereon upon reaching 18 years of age and passing class 10 examination. The  scheme  covers  (i) all girls belonging to  SC/ST communities who pass class VIII and (ii) all  girls  who  pass  class VIII  examination from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (irrespective of whether they belong to SC/ ST) and enroll in class IX in State Government, Government-aided and Local Body schools.
- (f) Based on recommendation of the EFC, evaluation of the scheme was carried out  through  the  Institute  of  Economic  Growth  (IEG),  Delhi  for  the  purpose  of  redesigning.

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year   |   BE (Rs. in crore) |   RE (Rs. in crore) |   Expenditure (Rs. in crore) |   No. of Girls |
|-----------|------------------|---------------------|---------------------|------------------------------|----------------|
|         1 | 2017-18          |               320   |              304    |                       292.38 |         973330 |
|         2 | 2018-19          |               255.9 |              192.66 |                       164.58 |         548396 |
|         3 | 2019-20          |               100   |              100    |                         8.56 |          28547 |

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