Lok Sabha Question No. 2521 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: Reforms under NIPUN Bharat
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-2521

## ANSWERED ON-04/08/2025

## Reforms under NIPUN Bharat

2521. Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar: Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde: Smt. Shambhavi:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) the specific interventions and reforms under NIPUN Bharat that have contributed to the significant  improvement  in  Grade  3  learning  outcomes  in  language  and  mathematics,  as reflected in the PARAKH Rastriya Sarvekshan 2024;
- (b) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to ensure that all the States and districts, especially those performing below the national average, are able to utilize PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan data effectively including any guidelines or capacity-building initiatives issued by the Government to identify learning gaps, adapt interventions and ensure that the benefits of NIPUN Bharat reaches to every child;
- (c)  whether  the  Government has any plans to further strengthen NIPUN Bharat, including targeted  support  for  low-performing  regions  and  strategies  to  address  persistent  gaps  in foundational learning; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to institutionalize a NIPUN Bharat Equity Index to track the  equitable  implementation  of  foundational  learning  interventions  in  socio-economically disadvantaged districts, tribal areas and aspirational blocks and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d) : The Department of School Education & Literacy ( DoSE&L), Ministry of Education has launched a National Mission called 'National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)' on 5th July, 2021 for ensuring that every child  in  the  country  necessarily  attains  foundational  literacy  and  numeracy  by  the  end  of Grade 2. This Mission has been set up under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha- an integrated scheme for School Education Under Samagra Shiksha, all 36

States/Union Territories are implementing NIPUN-Bharat Mission. It is the first time that the age group of 3-6 years has been included in the school continuum in foundational stage in 5+3+3+4 structure consisting of 3 years of Balvatika and Grade 1 & 2. National  Curricular  Framework  for  Foundational  Stage  (NCF-FS)  was  released  on  20th October, 2022 providing a structure for the syllabus, Training of Teachers, Learning Teaching Material (LTM), etc.

PARAKH  (Performance  Assessment,  Review,  and  Analysis  of  Knowledge  for Holistic Development) has been setup under National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) by Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L). The primary objective of this survey is to evaluate the learning competencies of students in Foundational Literacy,  Foundational  Numeracy,  Language  and  Mathematics  at  the  end  of  each  of  the educational stages i.e. Foundational, Preparatory, and Middle in Grades 3,6 & 9. The latest PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 was conducted on 4th December, 2024 by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH under the aegis of the Ministry of Education.

PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan findings  highlight  a  significant  improvement  in foundational  literacy  and  numeracy  skills  outcomes,  reflecting  the  positive  impact  of  the NIPUN Bharat Mission as envisioned in NEP 2020. It reflects that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural school is better than urban schools, Government schools showed stronger performance at Grade 3, indicating early success of NIPUN Bharat Mission. It also shows clear improvement in learning outcomes from previous survey  & recovery  from covid losses in language & Mathematics.

The  various  initiatives  under  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission  which  contribute  to  better outcomes implemented by all States/UTs :-

-  A 3months play based 'School Preparation Module and Guidelines' for Grade I named 'Vidya  Pravesh'  was  launched  on  29 th July,  2021.  The  goal  of  Vidya  Pravesh programme is to promote school preparedness in all children coming to Grade- I from diverse backgrounds (Balvatika, Anganwadi Centers (AWCs), at home, private play schools  etc.),  to  ensure  a  smooth  transition  of  children  to  Grade-I.  It  provides  play based,  age  and  developmentally  appropriate  learning  experiences  in  a  joyful  and stimulating  environment  leading  to  holistic  development  to  bolster  a  child's  preliteracy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills. This Programme  is being

implemented across the country. From 2022-23 till date, over 4.2 crore students in 8.9 lakh schools have benefitted.kj

-  Jaadui Pitara (JP), a collection of Learning Teaching Material (LTM) for 3 to 6 years age group was launched on 20th February, 2023. It is a box having 53 LTM for the foundational stage like toys, games, puzzles, puppets, posters, flashcards, story cards, play book set for students, and handbooks for teachers. The user manual and all the activity  cards, picture reading posters, story cards, and instructions of JP have been translated into 22 languages. It is a giant leap towards enriching the learning-teaching environment and making it more child-centric, lively, and joyful as envisioned in the NEP  2020.  It also consists of a Trainer's  Handbook  'Unmukh'  which  is  a comprehensive  guide  for  the  trainers  which  has  an activity  bank  for  3-6-year-old children which is mapped to PanchkoshiyaVikas and curricular goals of NCF-FS for future training of teachers at Foundational Stage. The Activity Book 'Anand' contains integrated worksheets to be used by children.
-  The e-JaaduiPitara (e-JP) was launched on 10th February 2024. The e-JP is an app and website with integration of the latest technology with play-based pedagogy and a way to  disseminate  the  learning  of  JP  and  transcend  it  beyond  the  four  walls  of  the classroom.  The  stakeholders  involved  are  teachers/educators,  parents,  etc.  e-JP,  in alignment with the NEP 2020, is an app initially developed for Android users along with browser access at https://ejaaduipitara.ncert.gov.in/. The app currently has more than 1,000 stories in different languages.  This website and mobile app are packed with fun and engaging content in multiple languages, including activities, songs, riddles, stories and lullabies. Using Artificial Intelligence, it comprises of three bots, viz.,
-  Katha Sakhi: Your storyteller Buddy, bringing magical tales to life;
-  Teacher Tara: A guide for educators, offering tips and resources; and
-  Parent Tara: A supportive companion for parents, providing guidance and fun activities.
-  Play  and  activity-based  textbooks  for  classes  1  and  2  have  also  been  prepared  and shared with States/UTs (Hindi- 'Sarangi', English-'Mridang', 'Mathematics- JoyfulMathematics and Anandmay-Ganit' and Urdu- 'Shahnai') fulfilling NEP 2020 and NCF-FS (National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage) recommendations.
-  Primers have been developed in 121 local languages for FLN learning in mother tongue. These are languages spoken by at least 10000 population.
-  Lakshya  or  Targets  for  Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy  starting  from  the Balvatika upto Grade 2 based on the learning outcomes have been developed on the basis of national and international research.
-  In  order  to  provide  continuous  learning  opportunities  to  the  teachers,  NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) online was launched using DIKSHA platform in October 2020 to reach out to elementary teachers and its further extension to all level of teachers. It includes multiple approaches for interaction i.e. Text Modules along with videos. All these contents are aligned to the three  developmental  goals  and  learning  outcomes  of  Foundational  Literacy  and Numeracy (FLN). Currently, it hosts contents in 133 languages (126 Indian Languages + 7 foreign languages). More than 14 lakhs teachers have completed NISHTHA online training program for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) & Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
-  The Holistic Progress Card (HPC) has also been introduced as a formative assessment tool to provide a multidimensional view of student progress. It goes beyond academics to  include  co-  curricular  and  socio-emotional  development.  Insights  from  these assessments guide evidence-based interventions, ensuring uniform progress across all regions.
-  The Government of India has introduced the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) as part of the academic framework to strengthen the monitoring of actual learning outcomes. This initiative is part of the 'One Nation, One Student ID' initiative in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and serves as a unique, lifelong  academic  ID  for  every  student.  It  records  their  academic  journey  from  the foundational stage (Balvatika) onwards, including academic  achievements, cocurricular  activities,  skill  development,  assessments,  and  basic  health  records.  This digital system ensures continuity of learning, aids dropout recovery, and enables timely academic updates for parents, teachers, and institutions.
-  Further, APAAR is integrated with the Holistic Progress Card (HPC), which captures a  360-degree  view  of  a  student's  development  through  competency-based  and formative assessment. The data from the HPC is linked to Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), a centralized data analytics platform that monitors student progress, identifies learning gaps, and supports targeted interventions. Together, APAAR, HPC, and VSK create  a  digital,  data-driven  ecosystem  supporting  digital  transformation  goals  of NIPUN  Bharat  Mission,  and  the  broader  Samagra  Shiksha  initiative  allowing continuous tracking of each student's progress, ensuring accountability and improved learning outcomes across all stages of education.
-  All the newly developed material is applicable across the country including aspirational districts, socio-economically disadvantaged districts and tribal areas. For the implementation  of  NIPUN  Bharat  initiatives,  a  separate  vertical  on  Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) has been developed on DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) to ensure availability and accessibility of high-quality learning material for the entire nation including aspirational districts including socioeconomically disadvantaged districts and tribal areas.
-  A new concise format for monitoring of NIPUN, NIPUN Bharat Mission Planning and Implementation Template (NBMPIT), was developed and shared with all States/UTs to understand the progress at a glance and for better monitoring.

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