Lok Sabha Question No. 16 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Implementation of Nipun Bharat Mission
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.16 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025

## Implementation of Nipun Bharat Mission

## 16. Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne:

Smt. Bharti Pardhi:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the current status of implementation of Nipun Bharat with regard to achieving the target of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) for every child by the end of class 3 by 202627,  in  all  districts  of  the  country,  especially  in  Maharashtra  and  Balaghat  district  of  Madhya Pradesh;

(b)  the  extent  to  which  the  Government  tracking  individual  learning  progress  of  children  under Nipun Bharat, especially for classes 1-3;

(c) the details of mechanisms put in place to ensure that children who are lagging behind receive targeted support; and

(d) the details of the success achieved by the Government in this regard, particularly in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d):   The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education has launched a National Mission called 'National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy  (NIPUN  Bharat)'  on  5 th July,  2021  for  ensuring  that  every  child  in  the  country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 2. All 36 States/Union Territories (including all districts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) are implementing NIPUNBharat Mission. Various initiatives under NIPUN are as follows:

-  Jaadui Pitara (JP), a collection of Learning Teaching Material (LTM) for 3 to 6 years age group was launched on 20 th 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  10 th 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.
-  Play and activity-based textbooks for classes 1 and 2 have also been prepared and shared with States/UTs (Hindi- 'Sarangi', English-'Mridang', 'Mathematics- Joyful-Mathematics and Anandmay-Ganit' and Urdu- 'Shahnai') fulfilling NEP 2020 and NCF-FS (National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage) recommendations.
-  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.
-  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 addition, other learning outcomes on developmental goals has been developed and codified covering various aspects, concepts and skills.
-  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.
-  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). More than 14 lakhs teachers have completed NISHTHA online training program for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) & Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) respectively.
-  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  NEP  2020  emphasizes  on  developing  relevant  concepts  and  attaining  requisite competencies to facilitate  optimal  learning  when  children  start  schooling.  Keeping  in  focus  the holistic  development,  a  3  Months  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  pre-literacy,  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.

As per UDISE 2023-24 data, preschool access has expanded rapidly across the country. Out  of  9,16,145  Government  and  Government-aided  schools  with  Grade  1,  a  total  of  4,64,545 schools  (50.70%)  has  some  form  of  preschool  education  facility  either  Balvatika  (Pre  primary section) or Anganwadi Center or both.

PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)  has  been  setup  under  National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training (NCERT)  by  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  round  of  the  PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  2024  was  conducted  on  4 th December, 2024 by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. This survey marks a significant advancement in India's assessment framework, aligning with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes competencybased learning and assessment reforms. The State/UT (including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) wise PARAKH 2024 report has been officially released in public domain on 2nd July, 2025. This can be accessed at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.

The  survey  shows  improvement  in  learning  achievements  of  the  students  and  further reflects the success of NIPUN Bharat Mission across the Country. It reflects that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural school is better than urban schools and clear improvement in learning outcomes from previous survey.

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