Lok Sabha Question No. 30 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Revised Criteria of Literacy
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 30

ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025

## REVISED CRITERIA OF LITERACY

30.    Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao:

Shri Manish Jaiswal:

Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government has revised the criteria for literacy in the country, if so, the details thereof alongwith the reasons for the same;
- (b) whether the Government has set any target to achieve full literacy rate in the country by the year 2030, if so, the details thereof and the steps taken/to be taken in this regard;
- (c) whether the Government has held any deliberations with State Governments for achieving the full literacy, particularly with States having poor literacy rate;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the response of the State Governments in this regard; and
- (e) whether the Government has made any specific scheme for the States lagging behind in literacy rate in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e) : The definition of Literacy in context with ULLAS- Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram is :

'Literacy is  the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, i.e to identify,  understand,  interpret  and  create,  alongwith  critical  life  skills  such  as  digital literacy, financial literacy, etc.' The definition is aligned with the International definition of 'Literacy' given by UNESCO. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 refers to Adult Education and Lifelong Learning at para 21.4, which states that: 'Strong  and  innovative  government  initiatives  for  adult  education  in  particular,  to facilitate community involvement and the smooth and beneficial integration of technology will  be  affected  as  soon  as  possible  to  expedite  this  all  important  aim  of  achieving  100%

literacy'.

A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 is being implemented by the Government of India. The aim of the scheme is to support all the States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among nonliterates across the country and targets all above the age of 15 years who have missed availing formal education. Government of India has continued engagement through written communications,  regional  conferences,  video  conferences,  regional  workshops,  and  review meetings with States/UTs to assess progress, share best practices, and strengthen implementation strategies of Adult Education Programmes.

35  States/UTs  are  implementing  ULLAS  and  1.7  crore  learners  have  appeared  in  the Foundational  Literacy  &  Numeracy  Assessment  Test  (FLNAT)  so  far.  Four  States/UTs  i.e. Ladakh, Mizoram, Goa and Tripura have become Fully Literate under ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram.

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