Lok Sabha Question No. 7 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Digital Learning
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Eswarasamy K

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 7

## ANSWERED ON 21/07/2025

## Digital Learning

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has any vision or plan to introduce digital learning in schools of the country including Tamil Nadu;

- (b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the extent to which the Government proposes to move in this direction?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (Shri Jayant Chaudhary)

(a) to (c) National Education Policy (NEP) (para 4.23) mentions that certain subjects, skills, and capacities should be learned by all students including digital literacy, coding, and computational thinking which are promoted through various digital initiatives.

A comprehensive  initiative  called  PM  eVidya  was  initiated  as  part  of  Atma  Nirbhar  Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu. The PM eVidya initiative is supported through budget allocated under Samagra Shiksha scheme and implemented with the support of NCERT. The components of these initiatives are available to all the students across all the States/UTs free of cost. Since education in in the concurrent list,  all  States/UTs  including  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  collaborate  with  NCERT  to  utilise, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives including digital learning as per their requirements. NCERT provides regular feedback on quality of these initiatives.

The  key  components  of  PM  eVidya  are  also  aligned  towards  enhancing  digital  literacy  and include:

- DTH  TV  Channels:  These  channels  were  launched  on  9th  March  2024  by  Hon'ble Education Minister. As per the Union Budget announcement for Financial Year 2022-23, the 12 DTH  Channels  have  been  expanded  to  200  PM  eVidya  DTH  TV  Channels  to  enable  all States/UTs  to  provide  supplementary  education  in  various  Indian  languages  including  for classes  1-12.  The  channels  have  been  allocated  to  the  States/UTs  and  Autonomous  Bodies under an MoU with NCERT and are operational. The State of Tamil Nadu has been allocated 5 channels (Ch No. 158 to 162) to offer high quality education content in Tamil/local regional languages,  however  the  State  is  yet  to  sign  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  with NCERT to utilise these allocated channels.

A dedicated Tamil language TV channel as part of the PM eVidya initiative (Channel no. 34) has  been  launched  to  facilitate  learning  Indian  languages  on  July  29,  2024.    Further,  on  6th December 2024, in consonance with the NEP 2020 recommendation for promotion of Indian Sign Language (ISL) and to ensure extensive reach of the teaching learning material in ISL to a wider  audience,  Hon'ble  Minister  of  Education  launched      a  dedicated  initiative  promoting inclusive education through accessible learning resources for the hearing-impaired community through a dedicated PM eVidya DTH Channel (Channel no. 31). Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NCERT/NIOS website and YouTube channels.

One hour of content on Digital Literacy is broadcasted by NCERT daily on DTH Channels and YouTube to enhance the digital literacy of students and teachers in rural areas.

- DIKSHA the nation's digital  infrastructure  for  providing  quality  e-content  for  school education in States/UTs and QR coded Energised Textbooks for all grades (One Nation, One Digital platform). Overall 564.05 crore learning sessions have been completed on DIKSHA by students,  teachers  and  other  stakeholders.  Further,  the  courses  on  Computer  Sciences  on DIKSHA platform for Class XIth and Class XIIth include Digital Literacy components.

In keeping with the recommendation of the NEP 2020, 117 Indian Language Primers have been released with a focus on enabling young learners and adults to access education in their mother tongue, including one Primer for Tamil.

To promote crucial critical thinking skill and to give space for creativity, more than 300 Virtual Labs have been created and made available on DIKSHA platform.

Education is part of Concurrent List of the Constitution and most of the Government schools are  under  the  administration  of  the  State  Government  and  its  bodies.  Ministry  of  Education implements ICT and Digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha to enhance digital learning in Government schools across the country, including rural  areas  in  Tamil  Nadu.  The  initiatives aim to enhance the quality of education by integrating technology into teaching and learning processes.  Under  the  initiatives,  funds  are  provided  for  setting  up  ICT  Labs  and  Smart Classrooms according to the requirement of State submitted in the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B). The ICT scheme offers two options:

1.  Option  I: Schools  without  prior  ICT  facilities  can  choose  ICT  labs  or  smart  classrooms. Schools  with  over  700  students  may  get  an  additional  ICT  lab.  States/UTs  can  procure hardware,  software,  tablets,  laptops,  and  training  resources,  supporting  digital  boards,  virtual classrooms, and DTH channels.
2. Option II: Schools with existing ICT facilities can access smart classrooms or tablets under the scheme norms.

## ICT Coverage in Tamil Nadu:

1. ICT Labs have been established in all Government Middle, High, and Higher Secondary Schools  -  comprising  6,995  schools  under  Elementary  Education  and  6,223  schools  under Secondary Education.
2. Smart  Classrooms  have  been  set  up  in  22,066  Government  Primary  Schools  through State fund.
3. Smart  Classrooms  have  also  been  established  in  865  Government  High  and  Higher Secondary Schools, sanctioned under fund from MoE.
4. Internet Connectivity has been ensured across 21,350 Government Primary Schools, in addition to all 6,995 Middle Schools and all 6,223 High and Higher Secondary Schools.

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