Lok Sabha Question No. 2384 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Literacy Rate in India
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2384 ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025

## Literacy Rate in India

## 2384. Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad :

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state :

(a)  the  number  of  districts  declared  as  complete  literate  in  the  country,  State/UT  and district-wise;

(b) the details of percentage of literate people in the country as on date, State/UT-wise and district-wise in Tamil Nadu;

(c)  the  details  of  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  solve  the  problem  of  illiteracy  in  the country; and

(d) the details of the percentage of literacy in the country on a global scale?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d)  :  The  Government  of  India  is  implementing  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme namely, 'New India Literacy Programme (NILP)' popularly known as ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, from 2022-2027 to support all the States and  Union  Territories,  including  Tamil  Nadu,  in  promoting  literacy  among  non-literates across  the  country. The  Scheme  targets  non-literates  aged  15  years  and  above  who  have missed formal schooling and provide educational opportunities to them to make them literate.

In  context  with  ULLAS  -  Nav  Bharat  Saaksharta  Karyakram  the  Literacy  is defined  as  the  ability  to  read,  write,  and  compute  with  comprehension,  i.e.  to  identify, understand, interpret and create, along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy, etc.

The  criterion  for  declaring  a  State/UT  fully  literate  is  achieving  a  literacy rate  of  95%  or  above.  Till  now,  Five  States/UTs  Ladakh  (2024),  Mizoram  (2025),  Goa (2025),  Tripura  (2025),  and  Himachal  Pradesh  (2025)  have  achieved  full  literacy  under

ULLAS. The details of State/UT-wise percentage of literate people in the Country as per PLFS Report 2023-24 is at Annexure.

*****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2384 FOR 15.12.2025 ASKED BY DR.  M  K  VISHNU  PRASAD,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'LITERACY  RATE IN INDIA'.

State/UT-wise  Literacy  Rate  (in  per  cent)  in  the  age  group  of  7  and  above,  as  per Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Annual Report 2023-24 conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

|   Sl. No. | States/UT                       |   Literacy Rate for 2023-24 | As on date Literacy Rate   |
|-----------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh                  |                        72.6 | -                          |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh               |                        84.2 | -                          |
|         3 | Assam                           |                        87   | -                          |
|         4 | Bihar                           |                        74.3 | -                          |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh                    |                        78.5 | -                          |
|         6 | Delhi                           |                        86.9 | -                          |
|         7 | Goa                             |                        93.6 | 99.72%                     |
|         8 | Gujarat                         |                        84.6 | -                          |
|         9 | Haryana                         |                        84.8 | -                          |
|        10 | Himachal Pradesh                |                        88.8 | 99.30%                     |
|        11 | Jharkhand                       |                        76.7 | -                          |
|        12 | Karnataka                       |                        82.7 | -                          |
|        13 | Kerala                          |                        95.3 | -                          |
|        14 | Madhya Pradesh                  |                        75.2 | -                          |
|        15 | Maharashtra                     |                        87.3 | -                          |
|        16 | Manipur                         |                        92   | -                          |
|        17 | Meghalaya                       |                        94.2 | -                          |
|        18 | Mizoram                         |                        98.2 | 98.20%                     |
|        19 | Nagaland                        |                        95.7 | -                          |
|        20 | Odisha                          |                        79   | -                          |
|        21 | Punjab                          |                        83.4 | -                          |
|        22 | Rajasthan                       |                        75.8 | -                          |
|        23 | Sikkim                          |                        84.7 | -                          |
|        24 | Tamil Nadu                      |                        85.5 | -                          |
|        25 | Telangana                       |                        76.9 | -                          |
|        26 | Tripura                         |                        93.7 | 95.60%                     |
|        27 | Uttarakhand                     |                        83.8 | -                          |
|        28 | Uttar Pradesh                   |                        78.2 | -                          |
|        29 | West Bengal                     |                        82.6 | -                          |
|        30 | Andaman &N. Island              |                        91.1 | -                          |
|        31 | Chandigarh                      |                        93.7 | -                          |
|        32 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli &Daman &Diu |                        87.8 | -                          |
|        33 | Jammu &Kashmir                  |                        82   | -                          |
|        34 | Ladakh                          |                        81   | 97.00%                     |
|        35 | Lakshadweep                     |                        97.3 | -                          |
|        36 | Puducherry                      |                        92.7 | -                          |