Lok Sabha Question No. 47 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Smart Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Selvam G, Shri C N Annadurai

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 47 ANSWERED ON 21/07/2025

## Smart Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

## 47. Shri C N Annadurai:

Shri Selvam G:

## Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps taken by the Government for the upgradation of computer and hi-tech laboratories and  establishment  of  smart  classrooms  in  Government  schools  under  the  Samagra  Shiksha Abhiyan in the country;
- (b)  the  number  of  schools  covered  in  the  scheme  and  the  current  status  of  implementation  of these initiatives in the country particularly in the State of Tamil Nadu;
- (c) the details of smart classrooms and upgraded hi-tech labs established in the country including Tamil Nadu during the last three years and the current year, district-wise;
- (d) whether any specific targets have been set for Tamil Nadu regarding digital infrastructure in schools and if so, the details thereof, including timelines and expected learning outcomes; and
- (e)  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  capacity-building of teachers, regular maintenance of digital infrastructure and technical support in schools equipped with smart classrooms and hi-tech labs in Tamil Nadu?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SH. JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (e):  ICT  and  Digital  Initiatives  component  of Samagra Shiksha covers Government and Government Aided Schools having classes VI to XII. Under this component financial assistance is  provided  for  establishing  ICT  Labs  and  Smart  Classrooms  in  schools.  The  non-  recurring/ recurring  grant  under  'ICT  and  Digital  Initiatives'  is  available  to  the  States  and  UTs  for following two options: -

- i. Option I: Under this option schools which have not availed the ICT facility earlier can either opt for ICT or smart classrooms as per their requirement and need. In case of more than  700  enrolment,  an  additional  ICT  lab  can  also  be  considered.  States/UTs  have flexibility  to  procure  hardware  such  as  tablets/  laptops/notebooks/  integrated  teaching learning  devices  and  open  source  operating  system  as  well  as  Hardware,  Software, training  and  resource  support.  This  would  include  support  for  digital  boards,  smart classrooms,  virtual  classrooms  and  DTH  channels  on  pro-rata  basis  for  number  of schools approved.
- ii. Option II : Under this option schools which have already availed the ICT facility earlier can avail smart classrooms/tablets as per the norms of the scheme.

## Financial Provisions:

ICT Lab: A non-recurring grant of up to Rs. 6.40 lakh per school and recurring grant of upto Rs. 2.40 lakh per school per annum for a period of 5 years.

From 2023-24, the scheme also offers step-wise funding based on school enrolment. (Strength < 100: Rs. 2.5 Lakhs, Strength between 100 - 250: Rs. 4.5 Lakhs, Strength between 250 - 700: Rs. 6.4 Lakhs)

Smart Classrooms: The non-recurring  grant  for  Smart  Class  rooms  (2  smart  classrooms  per school)  is  of  Rs.  2.40  lakh  and  the  recurring  grant  is  Rs.  38,000/-  per  school  per  annum (including E Content and Digital Resources, Charges for Electricity).

The State/UT-wise details of ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms sanctioned and functional is at Annexure . As per UDISE+ 2023-24 data, the district-wise details of ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms in all  States/UTs  including  Tamil  Nadu  from  2021-22  to  2023-24  is  available  on https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl\_ques.

Based on the UDISE+ data and funds approved in Project Approval Board's meetings (PAB) to Stats/UTs for the year 2025-26, there were gaps identified in saturating ICT labs, smart classrooms, and subject-specific labs in Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools in States/UTs. To address this gap, a supplementary PAB was conducted on May 28, 2025 and ₹5989.90 crore was approved for the saturation of these facilities in 32 States/UTs, including Rs.34.18 crore for Tamil Nadu, for 2025-26, as per Samagra Shiksha's programmatic norms.

Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under the administrative control of respective State Government and UT Administration. As per information  received  from  State  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu,  under  Samagra  Shiksha,  13,351 ICT  Labs  and  865  Smart  Classrooms  have  been  established  in  Government  Schools.  Further, 6,414  ICT  Labs  in  Government  High  and  Higher  Secondary  Schools,  6,937  Hi-Tech  Labs  in Government Middle Schools and 865 Smart Classrooms in 865 Government High and Higher Secondary  Schools  have  been  established  and  are  functional.  Capacity  building  training  have been provided for all headmasters and teachers for technical support.

The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched a national initiative to improve  learning  outcomes  at  the  elementary  level  through  an  Integrated  Teacher  Training Programme  called  NISHTHA  -  National  Initiative  for  School  Heads'  and  Teachers'  Holistic Advancement in 2019-20. NISHTHA is a capacity building programme for "Improving Quality of  School  Education  through  Integrated  Teacher  Training".    In  order  to  provide  continuous learning opportunities to the teachers, NISHTHA online was launched using DIKSHA platform in  October  2020. Teachers  were  oriented  on  various  aspects  related  to  Learning  Outcomes, Competency Based Learning and Testing and ICT in teaching-learning.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  47  FOR  REPLY  ON  21 ST   JULY,  2025  ASKED  BY SHRI C N ANNADURAI AND SHRI SELVAM G HON'BLE MP REGARDING SMART CLASSROOMS UNDER SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

The State/UT wise details of ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms, approved and functional:

| States/UTs Name             | ICT (From 2005-06 to till date)   | ICT (From 2005-06 to till date)   | Smart Classroom (2020-21 to till date)   | Smart Classroom (2020-21 to till date)   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|                             | Approval                          | Functional                        | Approval                                 | Functional                               |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 147                               | 140                               | 41                                       | 0                                        |
| Andhra Pradesh              | 9602                              | 9099                              | 5337                                     | 4691                                     |
| Arunachal Pradesh           | 685                               | 480                               | 318                                      | 141                                      |
| Assam                       | 6986                              | 6903                              | 6481                                     | 4036                                     |
| Bihar                       | 3483                              | 2855                              | 5473                                     | 2827                                     |
| Chandigarh                  | 154                               | 107                               | 186                                      | 186                                      |
| Chhattisgarh                | 3777                              | 2341                              | 10529                                    | 5857                                     |
| DND -DNH                    | 152                               | 130                               | 192                                      | 137                                      |
| Delhi                       | 1430                              | 1106                              | 1119                                     | 1018                                     |
| Goa                         | 463                               | 460                               | 24                                       | 24                                       |
| Gujarat                     | 6112                              | 5830                              | 7155                                     | 7078                                     |
| Haryana                     | 4452                              | 3521                              | 3556                                     | 3226                                     |
| Himachal Pradesh            | 3858                              | 2555                              | 2262                                     | 2248                                     |
| Jammu and Kashmir           | 4011                              | 3036                              | 4361                                     | 1352                                     |
| Jharkhand                   | 5339                              | 4734                              | 1795                                     | 982                                      |
| Karnataka                   | 9175                              | 3293                              | 3940                                     | 437                                      |
| Kerala                      | 2474                              | 2409                              | 730                                      | 373                                      |
| Ladakh                      | 188                               | 171                               | 138                                      | 122                                      |
| Lakshadweep                 | 28                                | 11                                | 0                                        | 0                                        |
| Madhya Pradesh              | 5338                              | 3738                              | 9531                                     | 4018                                     |
| Maharashtra                 | 10548                             | 10134                             | 5155                                     | 2257                                     |
| Manipur                     | 828                               | 785                               | 544                                      | 512                                      |
| Meghalaya                   | 509                               | 454                               | 25                                       | 25                                       |
| Mizoram                     | 1035                              | 507                               | 240                                      | 229                                      |
| Nagaland                    | 760                               | 649                               | 712                                      | 649                                      |
| Odisha                      | 8412                              | 8315                              | 9542                                     | 6973                                     |
| Puducherry                  | 176                               | 176                               | 145                                      | 145                                      |
| Punjab                      | 5807                              | 3969                              | 3885                                     | 3567                                     |
| Rajasthan                   | 10751                             | 8807                              | 13057                                    | 7612                                     |
| Sikkim                      | 385                               | 372                               | 301                                      | 301                                      |
| Tamil Nadu                  | 16564                             | 13351                             | 7149                                     | 865                                      |
| Telangana                   | 6287                              | 5292                              | 4212                                     | 3982                                     |
| Tripura                     | 1593                              | 1426                              | 977                                      | 886                                      |
| Uttar Pradesh               | 18020                             | 3987                              | 33616                                    | 18460                                    |
| Uttarakhand                 | 2500                              | 621                               | 2810                                     | 1537                                     |
| West Bengal                 | 4184                              | 2788                              | 502                                      | 0                                        |
| Total                       | 156213                            | 114552                            | 146040                                   | 86753                                    |