Lok Sabha Question No. 2324 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: Promotion of Digital Education in Rural Areas
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2324 ANSWERED ON 04/08/2025

## Promotion of Digital Education in Rural Areas

2324. Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken concrete steps to promote digital education in rural and remote areas of the country;
- (b) if so, the details of such initiatives launched during the last three years;
- (c) the number of schools in rural India that have access to functional internet and digital infrastructure;
- (d)  whether  there  are  plans  to  provide  training  for  teachers  in  the  use  of  digital teaching tools and platforms; and
- (e) the timeline by which the Government aims to ensure 100 percent digital access in rural Schools?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (e)  Education  is  part  of  the  Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  most  of  the Government schools are under the administration of the State Government and its bodies. The Ministry of Education implements ICT and Digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha to enhance digital learning in Government schools across the country, including rural areas. 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 requirements of the 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.

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.

States/UTs collaborate with NCERT to utilise, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these  initiatives  as  per  their  requirements.  NCERT  also  provides  regular  guidance/ feedback to States/UTs on the quality of these initiatives.

The  key  components  of  PM  eVidya  are  also  aligned  towards  enhancing  digital literacy and include 200 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, 12 DTH channels have been expanded to 200 PM eVidya DTH TV channels and 400 Radio channels to  enable all  States/UTs  to  provide  supplementary  education  in various  Indian  languages  for  classes  1-12.  The  channels  have  been  allocated  to  the States/UTs and Autonomous Bodies. States/UTs are empowered to create and disseminate content in regional/local languages.

Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing  (DIKSHA)  is  the  Nation's  digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs and QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) 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.  To  promote  crucial  critical  thinking  skills  and  to  give space for creativity, more than 300 Virtual Labs have been created and made available on the DIKSHA platform.

To saturate all secondary and higher secondary schools with ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms, a Supplementary Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting was held on 28 th May  2025.  A  total  of  20,456  ICT  Labs  and  29,896  Smart  Classrooms  have  been approved, with financial approval of Rs. 911.13 crore for ICT Labs and Rs. 630.38 crore for Smart Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha, in addition to earlier approval of 1,56,213 ICT  Labs  and  1,46,040  Smart  Classrooms.  Also,  the  Union  Budget  2025  includes  a provision under the BharatNet project to extend broadband connectivity to government secondary schools in rural areas in a phased manner through BSNL.

NCERT, has been  actively  conducting  webinars  and  online  training  to  enhance teachers'  competencies in using digital technology and ICT for teaching, learning, and assessment. Since 2020, over 1,146 webinars have been held, focusing on digital tools, ICT integration, and cyber safety. Online training series on NEP 2020's recommendations on ET and ICT, and the development of e-content are also conducted. Regular  monthly  training  on  Cyber  Safety  has  been  conducted  since  October  2021, benefitting  over  8  lakh  learners  between  2022  and  2025.  Additionally,  Continuous Professional  Development  (CPD)  courses  for  teachers  and  educators  through  the DIKSHA platform are offered, which are aligned with NEP 2020.

The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has also 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  under  the  centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.