Lok Sabha Question No. 117 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-03
Subject: Educationally  Backward Districts
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 117 ANSWERED ON 03.02.2025

## Educationally Backward Districts

117.   Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  and  names  of  districts  categorized  as  educationally  backward  across  the country during the last five years;
- (b)  the  proportion  of  SC  and  ST  population  in  these  districts  as  per  the  latest  census  or survey;
- (c)  Whether  the Government  has  introduced  any  schemes  or  initiatives to  improve educational outcomes in these districts, such as special funds, scholarship programmes or infrastructural development; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHOUDHARY)

(a) to (b): The Department of School Education and Literacy is premised on universal access to schooling for all from pre-primary to Class XII through the Integrated Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School Education namely Samagra Shiksha launched with effect from the year 2018-19. Samagra Shiksha scheme is aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 and ensures that all children have access to quality education within an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which takes care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

This Department had identified Educationally Backward Blocks (EBB) in States/UTs, where the  female  rural  literacy  rate  was  below  the  national  average.  Under  the  erstwhile  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) were sanctioned in EBB as residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL).

However, with the launch of the Aspirational Districts Programme by NITI Aayog in January 2018 to improve the social outcomes of backward districts, the programs of the government are now aligned to fill in the infrastructure and learning gaps in the Aspirational Districts of the  country.  There  are  112  Aspirational  Districts,  across  26  States  and  1  Union  Territory ( Annexure - I).

The  information  on  Basic  Population  Figures  of  India,  States  and  Districts,  including proportion of SC and ST population, as per Census 2011 is available in the public domain and may be accessed through the website www.censusindia.gov.in at the following link. i.e. https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42557/download/46183/2011IndiaStateDist-0000.xlsx.

- (c) to (d): The government through the Samagra Shiksha scheme supports States and UTs in strengthening their existing government and govt aided schools, creation and augmentation of infrastructure  facilities  based  on  the  gaps  determined  from  Unified  District  Information System  for  Education  (UDISE+)  and  proposals  received  from  respective  State/  Union Territory. The need for schools and also the infrastructural facilities in schools are worked out  every  year  by  the  respective  State/Union  Territory  on  incremental  basis  depending  on their need and priority and reflected in their Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B). These plans are then appraised and approved/estimated by the Project Approval Board (PAB) in the Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy  in  consultation  with  the  States  and  Union Territories.  Further,  special  focus  for  SC/ST/EBBs  is  provided  through  the  following schemes under Samagra Shiksha:
- i. Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas  (KGBVs): Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  there  is  a provision  of  KGBVs  which  are  residential  schools  from  Class  VI  to  XII  for  girls belonging to  disadvantaged  groups  such  as  SC,  ST,  OBC,  Minority  and  Below  Poverty Line  (BPL).  The  KGBVs  are  set  up  in  Educationally  Backward  Blocks.  The  objective behind  establishing  KGBVs  is  to  ensure  access  and  quality  education  to  girls  from disadvantaged groups by setting up residential schools and to reduce  gender gaps at  all levels  of  school  education.    About  1.93  lakh  SC,  1.83  lakh  ST,  46,858  BPL,  2.59  lakh OBC and 28,761 Muslims are currently enrolled in 5133 KGBVs nationwide.
- ii. Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Awasiya  Vidyalayas  (NSCBAVs)Samagra  Shiksha supports the provision of residential facilities under the intervention entitled NSCBAVs, with the primary purpose of reaching out to girls, urban deprived and other disadvantaged children and creating equitable access to school education in remote, sparsely populated and difficult to reach areas, hilly terrains, areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE),

large uninhabited areas with natural barriers like forests, waterways, rivers, etc. At present, there are 1182 residential schools/hostels sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha.

- iii. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) which aims to saturate Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to  education,  health  and  nutrition,  road  and  telecom  connectivity,  electrification  of unelectrified  households  and  sustainable  livelihood  opportunities  in  a  mission  mode. Ministry  of  Education  is  one  of  the  participating  Ministries  in  the  Abhiyan  and  PMJANMAN is being implemented in convergence with Samagra Shiksha Scheme. As on date, an amount of Rs. 476.16 crores have been approved for 194 hostels by this Ministry.

## iv. National Means cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme:

The  Central  Sector  Scheme  'National  Means-cum-Merit  Scholarship  Scheme'  is  being implemented,  with  the  objective  to award  scholarships  to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of class  IX every  year and their continuation / renewal  in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum.

## v. RTE Entitlement -

Provision of Free Uniform: Samagra Shiksha provides support for two sets of uniform to all girls, SC, ST children and Below Poverty Line (BPL) children at an average cost of Rs. 600/- per child per annum, wherever State Governments have incorporated the provision of school uniforms as a child entitlement in their State RTE Rules.

Besides  the  above,  the  Department  is  also  implementing  schemes  such  as  the  Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) and PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti  Nirman)  to  provide  adequate  school  infrastructure  (including  digital),  teaching learning  material,  teacher  support,  nutrition,  scholarship  for  EWS  so  as  to  improve  the learning outcomes of all students in all States and UTs, with special focus on aspirational districts.

Separately, Ministry  of  Social  Justice  &  Empowerment  is  implementing  the  Centrally Sponsored Scheme; Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), since 2021-22. The scheme consists of three components namely Adarsh Gram, Grant-InAid  and  Hostel.  One  of  its  components  namely  'Hostel'  aims  at  providing  central assistance  for  construction  of  new  Hostel  buildings  for  Scheduled  Castes  (SC)  Students (separately  for  Boys  and  Girls).  The  hostels  are  taken  up  for  construction  based  on  the proposals received from respective State Governments/Central Universities.

******

Annexure I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 117 ANSWERED ON 03.02.2025 ASKED BY SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING EDUCATIONALLY BACKWARD DISTRICTS.

List of 112 Aspirational Districts

|   S. No. | State             | District             |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh    | Alluri Sitharamaraju |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh    | Parvathipuram Manyam |
|        3 | Andhra Pradesh    | Y.S.R.               |
|        4 | Arunachal Pradesh | Namsai               |
|        5 | Assam             | Goalpara             |
|        6 | Assam             | Barpeta              |
|        7 | Assam             | Hailakandi           |
|        8 | Assam             | Baksa                |
|        9 | Assam             | Darrang              |
|       10 | Assam             | Udalguri             |
|       11 | Assam             | Dhubri               |
|       12 | Bihar             | Sitamarhi            |
|       13 | Bihar             | Araria               |
|       14 | Bihar             | Purnia               |
|       15 | Bihar             | Katihar              |
|       16 | Bihar             | Muzaffarpur          |
|       17 | Bihar             | Begusarai            |
|       18 | Bihar             | Khagaria             |
|       19 | Bihar             | Banka                |
|       20 | Bihar             | Sheikhpura           |
|       21 | Bihar             | Aurangabad           |
|       22 | Bihar             | Gaya                 |
|       23 | Bihar             | Nawada               |
|       24 | Bihar             | Jamui                |
|       25 | Chhattisgarh      | Korba                |
|       26 | Chhattisgarh      | Rajnandgaon          |
|       27 | Chhattisgarh      | Mahasamund           |
|       28 | Chhattisgarh      | Kanker               |
|       29 | Chhattisgarh      | Narayanpur           |
|       30 | Chhattisgarh      | Dantewada            |
|       31 | Chhattisgarh      | Bijapur              |
|       32 | Chhattisgarh      | Bastar               |
|       33 | Chhattisgarh      | Kondagaon            |
|       34 | Chhattisgarh      | Sukma                |

|   S. No. | State                | District            |
|----------|----------------------|---------------------|
|       35 | Gujarat              | Dahod               |
|       36 | Gujarat              | Narmada             |
|       37 | Haryana              | Mewat               |
|       38 | Himachal Pradesh     | Chamba              |
|       39 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Kupwara             |
|       40 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Baramulla           |
|       41 | Jharkhand            | Garhwa              |
|       42 | Jharkhand            | Chatra              |
|       43 | Jharkhand            | Giridih             |
|       44 | Jharkhand            | Godda               |
|       45 | Jharkhand            | Sahibganj           |
|       46 | Jharkhand            | Pakur               |
|       47 | Jharkhand            | Bokaro              |
|       48 | Jharkhand            | Lohardaga           |
|       49 | Jharkhand            | Purbi Singhbhum     |
|       50 | Jharkhand            | Palamu              |
|       51 | Jharkhand            | Latehar             |
|       52 | Jharkhand            | Hazaribagh          |
|       53 | Jharkhand            | Ramgarh             |
|       54 | Jharkhand            | Dumka               |
|       55 | Jharkhand            | Ranchi              |
|       56 | Jharkhand            | Khunti              |
|       57 | Jharkhand            | Gumla               |
|       58 | Jharkhand            | Simdega             |
|       59 | Jharkhand            | Pashchimi Singhbhum |
|       60 | Karnataka            | Raichur             |
|       61 | Karnataka            | Yadgir              |
|       62 | Kerala               | Wayanad             |
|       63 | Madhya Pradesh       | Chhatarpur          |
|       64 | Madhya Pradesh       | Damoh               |
|       65 | Madhya Pradesh       | Barwani             |
|       66 | Madhya Pradesh       | Rajgarh             |
|       67 | Madhya Pradesh       | Vidisha             |
|       68 | Madhya Pradesh       | Guna                |
|       69 | Madhya Pradesh       | Singrauli           |
|       70 | Madhya Pradesh       | Khandwa             |
|       71 | Maharashtra          | Nandurbar           |
|       72 | Maharashtra          | Washim              |
|       73 | Maharashtra          | Gadchiroli          |
|       74 | Maharashtra          | Osmanabad           |
|       75 | Manipur              | Chandel             |
|       76 | Meghalaya            | Ribhoi              |

|   S. No. | State         | District             |
|----------|---------------|----------------------|
|       77 | Mizoram       | Mamit                |
|       78 | Nagaland      | Kiphire              |
|       79 | Odisha        | Dhenkanal            |
|       80 | Odisha        | Gajapati             |
|       81 | Odisha        | Kandhamal            |
|       82 | Odisha        | Balangir             |
|       83 | Odisha        | Kalahandi            |
|       84 | Odisha        | Rayagada             |
|       85 | Odisha        | Koraput              |
|       86 | Odisha        | Malkangiri           |
|       87 | Odisha        | Nabarangpur          |
|       88 | Odisha        | Nuapada              |
|       89 | Punjab        | Moga                 |
|       90 | Punjab        | Firozpur             |
|       91 | Rajasthan     | Dholpur              |
|       92 | Rajasthan     | Karauli              |
|       93 | Rajasthan     | Jaisalmer            |
|       94 | Rajasthan     | Sirohi               |
|       95 | Rajasthan     | Baran                |
|       96 | Sikkim        | Soreng               |
|       97 | Tamil Nadu    | Virudhunagar         |
|       98 | Tamil Nadu    | Ramanathapuram       |
|       99 | Telangana     | Asifabad             |
|      100 | Telangana     | Bhoopalapally        |
|      101 | Telangana     | Bhadradri-Kothagudem |
|      102 | Tripura       | Dhalai               |
|      103 | Uttar Pradesh | Chitrakoot           |
|      104 | Uttar Pradesh | Fatehpur             |
|      105 | Uttar Pradesh | Bahraich             |
|      106 | Uttar Pradesh | Shrawasti            |
|      107 | Uttar Pradesh | Balrampur            |
|      108 | Uttar Pradesh | Siddharthnagar       |
|      109 | Uttar Pradesh | Chandauli            |
|      110 | Uttar Pradesh | Sonbhadra            |
|      111 | Uttarakhand   | Udham Singh Nagar    |
|      112 | Uttarakhand   | Haridwar             |