Lok Sabha Question No. 135 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Progress of NIPUN Bharat Mission
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Neeraj Maurya, Shri Naba Charan Majhi

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 135 ANSWERED ON - 09/02/2026

## Progress of NIPUN Bharat Mission

†*135.  Shri Neeraj Maurya: Shri Naba Charan Majhi:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  progress  made  so  far  under  the  National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with Understanding  and  Numeracy  (NIPUN)  Bharat  Mission  towards  ensuring  foundational literacy  and  numeracy  by  the  end  of  Class  3,  along  with  its  coverage  and  key  learning outcome indicators State/District-wise especially  in  Aonla (Bareilly), Shajahanpur,  Budaun and Jaunpur districts in Uttar Pradesh, Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts of Jharkhand and Machhlishahr Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh including the State of Telangana and Rajasthan; (b)  the  concrete  measures  taken  by  the  Government  for  strengthening/capacity  building  of teachers,  availability  of  quality  teaching-learning  materials  and  strengthening  of  evaluation frameworks to accelerate foundational skills in the above said districts including the State of Telangana; (c) the details of digital/institutional mechanisms adopted for real-time monitoring of learning outcomes  of  students  in  various  States  and  Union  Territories  including  Gujarat,  Madhya Pradesh particularly in Dewas-Shajapur Constituency and the above said districts; and (d) whether the Government proposes to provide additional educational support or technical incentives to backward  areas/lagging regions especially the above  said districts and Parliamentary  Constituencies  including  Dewas-Shajapur  Parliamentary  Constituency  of Madhya Pradesh and in the district of Telangana in achieving NIPUN Bharat targets and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  135  ANSWERED  ON  09.02.2026 ASKED  BY HON'BLE  MEMBERS  OF  PARLIAMENT  SHRI  NEERAJ  MAURYA  AND  SHRI NABA  CHARAN MAJHI REGARDING 'PROGRESS OF NIPUN BHARAT MISSION'

(a): The Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched a National Mission called ' National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat Mission (NBM)) ' on 5 th July,  2021  for ensuring  that  every  child  in  the  country  necessarily  attains  foundational  literacy  and numeracy (FLN) by the end of Grade 2. This Mission aligned with the National Education Policy  (NEP)  2020,  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  the  NBM. Financial  norms  for  the  following components are provided under the NBM including backward areas/lagging regions:

- Support  to  pre-school  education/co-located  anganwadi  centers  (recurring  & non-recurring)
- Teaching Learning Materials for implementation of Innovative pedagogies
- Teacher Resource Material/Activity Handbook
- Capacity building of Teachers of Grades I & II
- Independent, periodic and holistic assessment of students
- Formation of Project Management Unit (PMU) at state and district level

Under  the  NBM,  a  range  of  systemic  interventions  have  been  undertaken  and  the following  progress  has  been  made  across  the  country  including  the  districts  of  Aonla (Bareilly),  Shajahanpur,  Budaun and  Jaunpur districts  in  Uttar  Pradesh, Dakshina  Kannada district  in  Karnataka,  Hazaribagh  and  Ramgarh  districts  of  Jharkhand  and  Machhlishahr Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh including the State of Telangana and Rajasthan.

(i)  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 around 8.9 lakh schools have benefitted. The state-wise details are annexed.

(ii) To improve the learning outcomes at foundational stage, the National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) was released on 20 th October, 2022 providing a structure for the syllabus, training of teachers, Learning Teaching Material (LTM), etc.

(iii)  The Jaadui  Pitara (JP),  a  set  of  53  play-based  learning-teaching  materials  for ages 3-8 was launched on 20 th February 2023. Available in 22 Indian languages, JP includes toys,  puzzles,  story  cards,  flashcards,  and  teacher  handbooks.  Its  digital  extension,  the eJaadui Pitara , launched on 10 th February 2024, offers multilingual stories, activities, songs in 22  Indian  languages,  and  AI-based  botsKatha  Sakhi,  Teacher  Tara,  and  Parent  Tara -to support children, teachers, and parents. As envisaged in NEP 2020, these initiatives are an integral part of the foundational stage.

(iv)  Primers (launched in March, 2024) have been developed in 121 local and tribal languages for FLN in mother tongues spoken by populations of at least 10,000. The list of released  primers  in  Uttar  Pradesh,  Jharkhand,  Karnataka,  Telangana,  Madhya  Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat is tabulated below:

| State          | Name of Primer                                          |
|----------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Jharkhand      | Korwa, Kharia, Kurukh, Mundari, Bhumij, Santali (Hindi) |
| Karnataka      | Kodava, Tulu, Kannada                                   |
| Telangana      | Telugu, Gondi-Telugu, Kolami-Telugu                     |
| Rajasthan      | Bhili (Vasava), Bhili (Wagdi)                           |
| Gujarat        | Gujarati, Bhili (Vasava)                                |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhili (Vasava), Korku                                   |
| Uttar Pradesh  | Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit                                   |

(v) Lakshyas or Targets for FLN starting from the Balvatika-3 upto Grade-2, based on the learning outcomes have been developed on the basis of national and international research.

(vi) The DoSE&L and the MoWCD have jointly launched the 'Guidelines for co-location of Anganwadi Centers with schools' on 03.09.2025. The guidelines have been shared with the  States  &  UTs  for  effective  implementation.  As  per  UDISE+  2024-25,  out  of  9,11,035 Government  and  Government-aided  schools  with  Grade  1,  more  than  4.81  lakh  schools (52.79%) have some form of preschool education facilities, either AWC or Balvatika or both.

(vii)  The  Government  of  India  conducts  periodic  large-scale  assessments  to  measure learning  and  education  outcomes  across  the  country.  The  National  Achievement  Survey (NAS) was conducted in 2017 and again in 2021 to assess the learning levels of students in Grades  3,  5,  8  and  10  across  language,  mathematics,  environmental  studies,  science  and social  science.  The  state/district-wise  report  cards  are  available  in  public  domain  and  are available at https://nas.gov.in/report-card.

PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (PRS), 2024 is conducted to evaluate the learning competencies/outcomes of students in FLN, 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  PRS, 2024 was conducted on 4 th December, 2024.  The state/district-wise PRS 2024 report has been officially released in public domain on 2 nd July, 2025. This can be accessed at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.

PRS  2024  findings  highlight  a  significant  improvement  in  FLN  skills  outcomes, reflecting  the  positive  impact  of  the  NBM  as  envisioned  in  NEP  2020.  It  reflects  that  the performance  of  children  in  Grade  3  in  rural  school  is  better  than  urban  schools  and government  schools  have  outperformed  the  private  schools  at  foundational  stage.  The comparative picture for Grade-3 performance as compared to National Achievement Survey (NAS), 2021 is tabulated below:

| Grade 3: Comparative Picture (India) (in %age)   | Grade 3: Comparative Picture (India) (in %age)   | Grade 3: Comparative Picture (India) (in %age)   |
|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
|                                                  | NAS, 2021                                        | PRS, 2024                                        |
| Language                                         | 62                                               | 64                                               |
| Mathematics                                      | 57                                               | 60                                               |

Based  on  PRS,  2024,  the  Grade-3  performance  for  Bareilly  (Aonla),  Shajahanpur, Budaun and Jaunpur (Machhlishahr) districts in Uttar Pradesh, Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts of Jharkhand, Telangana and Rajasthan is:

| State         | District                                          |   %age Learning outcome, Language (PRS, 2024) |   %age Learning outcome, Mathematics (PRS, 2024) |
|---------------|---------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| Uttar Pradesh | Bareilly (Aonla Parliamentary constituency)       |                                            71 |                                               67 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Shajahanpur                                       |                                            65 |                                               61 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Budaun                                            |                                            64 |                                               61 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Jaunpur (Machhlishahr Parliamentary Constituency) |                                            73 |                                               68 |
| Karnataka     | Dakshina Kannada                                  |                                            64 |                                               59 |
| Jharkhand     | Hazaribagh                                        |                                            53 |                                               49 |
|               | Ramgarh                                           |                                            56 |                                               54 |
| Telangana     | All districts                                     |                                            58 |                                               54 |
| Rajasthan     | All districts                                     |                                            70 |                                               66 |

- (b): Pre-service teacher education programmes are regulated by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), with emphasis on teacher preparation for the foundational stage. In this context, the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) has been introduced as a four-year integrated degree programme that prepares teachers for school education, including the foundational stage, by integrating child development, early childhood care and education (ECCE), play-based and activity-based pedagogy, and FLN, along with early and continuous school  internships.  In  addition,  the  DoSE&L  has  launched  a  national  initiative  to  improve learning  outcomes  through  an  integrated  teacher  training  programme  called  the National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) under Samagra Shiksha.  NISHTHA  supports  large-scale  in-service  teacher  capacity  building  and  includes training modules for primary teachers focusing on pedagogy, FLN, inclusive education and classroom practices, and is implemented in coordination with the States and Union Territories through  face-to-face  and  online  modes.  More  than  15.57  lakh  users  including  pre-primary teachers, master trainers and Anganwadi Workers have completed NISHTHA online training program for FLN & ECCE. Besides, these states are also conducting physical trainings of teachers at State level.

(c): 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 NEP 2020, and serves as a unique, lifelong academic ID for every student.  It  records  their  academic  journey  from  the  foundational  stage  onwards,  including academic  achievements,  co-curricular  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. HPC is a multidimensional report of progress, that reflects in detail the progress as  well  as  the  uniqueness  of  each  learner  in  the  cognitive,  affective,  socio-emotional,  and psychomotor domains. It helps to map the status of each child's learning for FLN skills. 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.

Further,  the  Government  of  India  conducts  periodic  large-scale  assessments,  to measure learning and education outcomes across the country, through PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan as mentioned in point (a) above.

(d):  The  NBM  is  implemented  under  the  aegis  of  the  Samagra  Shiksha  scheme.  Bridging social  category  gaps  at  all  levels  of  school  education  is  one  of  the  major  objectives  of  the Samagra  Shiksha  scheme.  The  Scheme  reaches  out  to  children  belonging  to  SocioEconomically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs). The scheme is implemented on principles of equity and universal access for all.  Under Samagra Shiksha scheme, education is imparted with equitable access to the highest-quality education for all learners regardless of social or economic  background.  The  states/UTs  at  their  own  level  are  also  providing  additional, contextual  Teaching  Learning  Material.  In  Madhya  Pradesh  including  Dewas-Shajapur Parliamentary  Constituency,  children's  notebooks  and  teacher  guides  have  QR  codes, including  content  and  teaching  techniques.  Tablets  have  been  provided  to  teachers.  In Telangana, focussed interventions are introduced in low performing mandals and districts.

*****

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LSSQ NO. 135 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2026 REGARDING 'PROGRESS OF NIPUN BHARAT MISSION'

Details of Vidya Pravesh Programme for the years 2022-23, 2023-24 & 2024-25

|       |                   | No. of Schools Implemented   | No. of Schools Implemented   | No. of Schools Implemented   | Total Student covered   | Total Student covered   | Total Student covered   |
|-------|-------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| S.No. | State/UT          | 2022-23                      | 2023-24                      | 2024-25                      | 2022-2023               | 2023-2024               | 2024-2025               |
| 1     | A and N Islands   | 305                          | 308                          | 308                          | 1,962                   | 2,305                   | 2,445                   |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh    | 49,847                       | 38,950                       | 35,036                       | 18,76,989               | 6,03,949                | 2,42,882                |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,578                        | 2,631                        | 2,379                        | 13,328                  | 18,938                  | 20,595                  |
| 4     | Assam             | 30,027                       | 38,312                       | 38,724                       | 4,91,220                | 5,28,837                | 5,39,980                |
| 5     | Bihar             | 65,920                       | 67,657                       | 65,309                       | 20,00,000               | 15,23,411               | 12,95,231               |
| 6     | Chandigarh        | 112                          | 118                          | 118                          | 9,154                   | 2,107                   | 7,779                   |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh      | 21,735                       | 30,925                       | 31,560                       | 2,59,165                | 3,19,918                | 3,19,918                |
| 8     | DNH-DD            | 328                          | 303                          | 303                          | 7,759                   | 7,192                   | 7,049                   |
| 9     | Delhi             | 2,714                        | 1,622                        | 2,645                        | 4,18,105                | 1,36,318                | 1,23,459                |
| 10    | Goa               | 1,000                        | 1,007                        | 1,008                        | 18,212                  | 17,253                  | 17,253                  |
| 11    | Gujarat           | 31,878                       | 32,030                       | 32,701                       | 6,75,494                | 1,12,048                | 6,15,037                |
| 12    | Haryana           | 8,400                        | 8,663                        | 8,654                        | 6,47,000                | 1,10,000                | 1,05,719                |
| 13    | Himachal Pradesh  | 10,555                       | 10,363                       | 9,950                        | 1,77,036                | 49,294                  | 22,510                  |
| 14    | J&K               | 22,020                       | 13,805                       | 8,965                        | 1,34,249                | 1,30,640                | 1,19,160                |
| 15    | Jharkhand         | 34,457                       | 36,626                       | 36,626                       | 13,00,000               | 5,52,263                | 5,70,745                |
| 16    | Karnataka         | 42,672                       | 42,255                       | 42,656                       | 16,18,021               | 4,61,514                | 3,71,017                |
| 17    | Kerala            | -                            | 8,021                        | 9,395                        | -                       | 2,58,141                | 2,46,656                |
| 18    | Ladakh            | 666                          | 717                          | 738                          | 4,645                   | 1,972                   | 2,121                   |
| 19    | Lakshadweep       | 27                           | 27                           | 27                           | 1,067                   | 1,009                   | 1,028                   |
| 20    | Madhya Pradesh    | 63,397                       | 79,480                       | 79,215                       | 8,07,276                | 7,09,841                | 14,94,199               |
| 21    | Maharashtra       | 79,382                       | 82,906                       | 82,906                       | 13,84,131               | 11,03,339               | 10,78,720               |
| 22    | Manipur           | -                            | 3,334                        | 3,376                        | -                       | 29,638                  | 29,871                  |
| 23    | Meghalaya         | 330                          | -                            | 2,624                        | 6,185                   | -                       | 32,512                  |
| 24    | Mizoram           | 1,282                        | 1,255                        | 1,266                        | 21,662                  | 17,455                  | 51,135                  |
| 25    | Nagaland          | 114                          | 1,764                        | 1,449                        | 3,926                   | 14,705                  | 13,002                  |
| 26    | Odisha            | 46,510                       | 44,945                       | 44,945                       | 5,04,181                | 4,76,791                | 5,11,152                |
| 27    | Puducherry        | 296                          | 350                          | 340                          | 9,814                   | 5,494                   | 5,218                   |
| 28    | Punjab            | 12,827                       | 13,160                       | 12,862                       | 2,05,669                | 2,02,625                | 1,75,524                |
| 29    | Rajasthan         | 68,686                       | 68,140                       | 68,542                       | 6,78,019                | 8,79,705                | 7,65,779                |
| 30    | Sikkim            | -                            | 767                          | 764                          | -                       | 3,070                   | 3,064                   |
| 31    | Tamil Nadu        | 58,157                       | 38,036                       | 45,989                       | 5,21,844                | 3,63,724                | 3,58,700                |
| 32    | Telangana         | 29,428                       | 24,144                       | 24,144                       | 2,19,427                | 1,93,988                | 1,93,988                |
| 33    | Tripura           | 4,200                        | 4,227                        | 4,227                        | 50,000                  | 37,826                  | 37,826                  |
| 34    | Uttar Pradesh     | 1,11,599                     | 1,12,058                     | 1,11,597                     | 25,06,100               | 13,88,269               | 12,66,863               |
| 35    | Uttarakhand       | 11,596                       | 11,468                       | 11,248                       | 1,65,480                | 63,390                  | 63,960                  |
| 36    | West Bengal       | 65,748                       | 64,969                       | 65,261                       | 12,76,810               | 10,33,954               | 21,94,421               |
|       | Total             | 8,77,793                     | 8,85,902                     | 8,87,857                     | 1,80,13,930             | 1,13,60,923             | 1,29,06,518             |