Lok Sabha Question No. 2724 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: Digital Education and Connectivity in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. C M Ramesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2724

ANSWERED ON 09/03/2026

## Digital Education and Connectivity in Andhra Pradesh

## 2724. Dr. C M Ramesh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  digital  education, smart  classrooms  and  broadband  connectivity  in  educational  institutions  in  Andhra Pradesh;

(b)  the  number  of  institutions  covered  under  the  said  initiative  in  Anakapalli  Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency; and

(c) the details of steps taken by the Government to bridge the digital divide in rural and semiurban areas of the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) announced on 29.07.2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century and aims to address the many growing developmental  imperatives  of  our  country.  The  Policy  proposes  the  revision  and revamping  of  all  aspects  of  the  education  structure,  including  its  regulation  and governance, to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century education, including SDG-4, while building upon India's traditions and value systems. 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  and  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).

A comprehensive initiative called  PM eVidya was initiated as part of 'Atmanirbhar 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  under  the  aegis  of  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020.  States/Union Territories  (UTs)  collaborate  with  NCERT  to  utilise,  monitor  and  evaluate  the effectiveness of these initiatives as per their requirements in mother tongue/local/regional languages. PM eVidya includes 200 DTH TV Channels allotted to  States/UTs/Autonomous  Bodies  (ABs)/Other  Ministries  in  Government  of  India and  400  Radio  channels,  including  PM  eVidya  PM  mobile  app,  to  enable  them  to provide supplementary education as per their requirement in various Indian languages for  classes  1-12.  The  State  of  Andhra  Pradesh  has  been  allotted  5  channels  (PM eVIDYA 48 to 52), disseminating 636 video contents.

Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) is the Nation's One Nation, One  Digital platform for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs along with QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for all grades. Andhra Pradesh  as  a  participating  state  in  DIKSHA,  has  5.57  lakh  registered  users,  21.32 crore  learning  sessions  and  250.38  crore  learning  minutes.  Additionally,  Andhra Pradesh hosts 293 digital textbooks and 19,800+ e-content. DIKSHA Offline supports areas with limited or no internet connectivity. The stakeholders have access to more than 614 Virtual Labs and 100 Virtual skill labs (50 each in Hindi and English) on DIKSHA.

The Government of India, in the Budget 2025, has announced provision of broadband connectivity to all Government Secondary schools in rural areas, under the 'BharatNet'  project  to  enhance  digital  infrastructure  in  remote  areas  by  BSNL  in  a phased manner. In the State of Andhra Pradesh, 43,619 schools are connected to the internet via BSNL, APSFL or 4G Connectivity with multi-wan router.

The School Education Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh has approved and supplied 59,034 Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs) for classes VI-X and provided 36,783 Smart TVs for classes I-V during last 3 years to cover rural and semi-urban schools across  all  districts.  The  department  has  provided  broadband  connections  to  all  high schools and upper primary schools wherever connectivity is feasible. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has introduced 2,000 Additional Digital Classrooms (ADCRs) to modernize school education and make learning more interactive. These classrooms are equipped with smart boards, projectors, and digital content aligned with the curriculum, ensuring that students across rural and urban areas benefit equally from ICT-based education.

The  Government  of  Andhra  Pradesh  is  implementing  the  Personalised  Adaptive Learning (PAL) programme under Samagra Shiksha to promote digital and technology-enabled learning in schools. At present, the programme is being implemented  in  1,502  schools  across  the  State,  including  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and PM SHRI Schools. To facilitate the implementation of the initiative, 45,060 tablets have been distributed to the 1,502 Schools.

In  the  Anakapalli  Lok  Sabha  Parliamentary  Constituency,  a  comprehensive  Digital Learning Initiative has been implemented to strengthen technology-enabled education across  government  schools.  Under  this  initiative,  388  schools  were  equipped  with 1,146  Interactive  Flat  Panels  (IFPs)  across  two  phases,  while  421  schools  were covered under the Smart TV programme with the installation of 753 Smart TV units. In addition, under the Student Tablet Distribution Programme, a total of 41,700 tablets have been supplied to support digital access for students. A total of 47 schools in the Anakapalli Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency have been covered under the PAL programme. This initiative significantly enhances digital infrastructure and promotes interactive, technology-driven learning in the constituency.

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