Lok Sabha Question No. 120 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Financial Literacy in School and College
Ministry: Education
Asked by: L.S. Tejasvi Surya

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.120 ANSWERED ON 11.12.2023

## Financial Literacy in School and College

*120. SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  include  Financial  Literacy  in  school  or  college curriculum and if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard; (b)  whether  the  Government  is  also  looking  to  educate  youngsters  about  cyber  frauds,

- banking frauds and other neo-crimes happening in the country; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  120  ANSWERED  ON  11.12.2023  ASKED  BY SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA, HON'BLE MP REGARDING 'FINANCIAL LITERACY IN SCHOOL AND COLLEGE'.

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(a) to (c) The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 has recognized financial literacy as one of the important components for multiple -skill formation among learners. With technological advances,  the  younger  generation  is  more  prone  to  financial  risks.  This  makes  financial education even more crucial for school curriculum.  The components of financial literacy are taught  in  an  infused  manner  in  schools,  particularly  in  economics  and  business  studied  at different level of school education such as, money and banking, insurance, E-commerce, Ebanking, etc.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed booklets and brochures regarding cyber safety & security for schools, teachers, students and parents. The cyber safety components have also been infused into the course content of  Information and  Communication  Technologies  (ICT)  curriculum  for  students  till  class  8.  PRAGYATA Guidelines  for  digital  education, inter-alia ,  provides  guidelines  for  screen  timing,  cyber etiquettes, cyber bullying inducing ergonomics, etc.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) offers the Skill Subjects 'Introduction to Financial  Markets'  at  Secondary  Level  and  'Financial  Markets  Management'  at  Senior Secondary Level. The number of schools and students who opted for the above Skill Subjects in the session 2023-24 are as follows -

- Class X: 302 schools | 13,083 students
- Class XII: 244 schools | 5,340 students

CBSE  offers  'Financial  Literacy'  as  a  Skill  Module  in  classes  VI-VIII.  CBSE  has  been conducting  'Sensitization  Programme  on  Financial  Literacy  and  use  of  Digital  Tools'  for teachers.  Cyber  Security  and  Cyber  Fraud  are  also  components  of  this  programme.  2,995 trainings have been conducted from July 2022 to December 2023 wherein 2,53,091 teachers have participated.

The National Higher Education Qualifications Framework developed by the University Grants Commission  (UGC)  on  the  basis  of  the  recommendations  of  NEP  2020  provides  broad learning outcomes for different qualifications. Institutions and faculty will have the autonomy to innovate on matters of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment within a broad framework of higher  education  qualifications.  Accordingly,  when  institutions  develop  curricula  financial education are incorporated in relevant disciplines.

To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber-crimes in comprehensive and coordinated manner, the Central Government has taken steps for spreading awareness about cyber crimes; issuance  of  alerts/advisories;  capacity  building/training  of  law  enforcement  personnel/ prosecutors/ judicial officers; improving cyber forensic facilities, etc. The Government has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to provide a framework and eco-system  for Law  Enforcement  Agencies  (LEAs)  to  deal  with  cyber-crimes  in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Government has launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) to enable the public to report all types of cyber-crimes; with special focus on cyber-crimes against women and children. The 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System' has been launched for immediate reporting  of  financial  frauds  and  to  stop  siphoning  off  fund  by  the  fraudsters.  A  toll-free Helpline number '1930' has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.

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