Lok Sabha Question No. 196 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-01
Subject: Smart Classrooms in Schools
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Rajesh Verma, Smt. Shambhavi, Dr. D. Purandeswari, Dr. Lata Wankhede, Shri Atul Garg

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 196 ANSWERED ON 01/12/2025

## Smart Classrooms in Schools

196. Smt. Shambhavi:

Dr. D. Purandeswari:

Dr. Lata Wankhede:

Shri Rajesh Verma:

Shri Atul Garg:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is taking steps to introduce smart classrooms in schools located in rural and semi-urban areas in the country;

(b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  State/UT-wise  including  Bihar  particularly  in  Khagaria  & Samastipur,  Andhra  Pradesh  particularly  in  Rajahmundry,  Madhya  Pradesh  particularly  in Sagar and Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Ghaziabad Parliamentary constituencies to enhance digital learning infrastructure, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of  the  initiatives  undertaken,  including  funding  allocations,  technology integration  plans,  teacher  training,  and  partnerships  with  State,  authorities  and  private organisations for setting up smart classrooms in these areas;

(d) whether the Government has encountered any challenges or identified hindrances, such as lack  of  internet  connectivity,  electricity,  technical  expertise,  or  community  awareness-in implementing smart classrooms in rural districts in the country;

(e) if so, the nature and extent to hence challenges, State/UT-wise; and

(f) the details of action plan proposed/being implemented by the Government to address and overcome  such  difficulties in the States including timelines, infrastructural upgrades, capacity-  building  measures  and  collaboration  with  local  bodies  to  ensure  the  successful rollout of smart classrooms?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):  The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  is  implementing  Samagra Shiksha  -  an  Integrated  Scheme  for  School  Education  from  2018-19.  It  is  an  overarching programme envisaging the 'school' as a continuum from pre-school to Grade 12, running in the  country  including  rural  and  semi-urban  areas.  The  vision  of  the  scheme  is  to  ensure inclusive and equitable quality education in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020.

Smart  Classroom  component  of  Samagra  Shiksha  covers  Government  and  Aided schools having classes VI to XII. Under this component financial assistance is provided to States/UTs,  including  in  rural  and  semi-urban  areas  for  establishing  Smart  Classrooms  in schools  which  includes  interactive  Digital  Board/display  unit,  Operating  System  (OS), LCD/LED/plasma screen, printer, scanner, laptops/tablets/desktops etc.

Financial  Provisions: The  non-recurring  grant  for  Smart  Classrooms  (2  smart  classrooms per school) is of Rs.2.40 lakh and the recurring grant is Rs.38000/- (including E Content and Digital Resources, Charges for Electricity).

The  States/UTs-wise  details  of  Smart  Classrooms  approved  is  at Annexure .  The details of Smart Classrooms in East Godavari district (includes Rajahmundry Parliamentary constituency) in Andhra Pradesh, Khagaria & Samastipur districts in Bihar, Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh and Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh is as under: -

| State Name     | District Name   |   Smart Classroom |
|----------------|-----------------|-------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh | East Godavari   |               211 |
| Bihar          | Khagaria        |               135 |
| Bihar          | Samastipur      |               386 |
| Madhya Pradesh | Sagar           |               275 |
| Uttar Pradesh  | Ghaziabad       |               122 |

Source: UDISE+ 2024-25

Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  teacher  capacity  building  for  digital  education  is  being supported  through  the  Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing  (DIKSHA),  which provides  e-content  and  digital  learning  resources.  The  Department  has  also  implemented NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) as an integrated teacher training programme on DIKSHA, covering modules on digital pedagogy, use of ICT tools and technology-enabled learning. Further, NCERT, SCERTs, DIETs, BRCs and CRCs undertake development of resource material, digital content, training programmes and workshops to strengthen teachers' preparedness for digital education.

(d) to (f): Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under the administrative control of respective State Government and UT Administration. Central  Government  provides  funds  for  digital  initiatives  component  including  Smart Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha, on the basis of requirement communicated by them in the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B).

The key challenges or limitation faced in implementing digital interventions such as Smart Class are of Capacity Building of teachers, Infrastructure setup, Uninterrupted internet connectivity etc.

Based on the UDISE+ data and funds approved in Project Approval Board's (PAB) meetings to States/UTs for the year 2025-26, there were gaps identified in saturating smart classrooms and other components in Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools in States/UTs. To address this gap, a supplementary PAB was conducted for the saturation of these facilities in 32 States/UTs, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

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. Based on feasibility, BSNL has identified 16,071 schools that are less than 500m from Optical Line Terminal (OLT) which are eligible in Phase-1 for high-speed internet connectivity.

The State/UT Governments have been advised to act based on the situation prevailing at  every  place  to  meet  the  demands  of  students  and  teachers  for  providing  them  with  the digital access required for teaching learning digitally.

The  National  Education  Policy  2020  calls  for  investment  in  digital  infrastructure, online  teaching  platforms  and  tools,  virtual  labs,  digital  repositories,  online  assessments, technology and pedagogy for online teaching-learning etc., for which various initiatives have been taken. For school education, digital literacy programs have been extended to students, teachers and all stakeholders with necessary funding mechanisms under Samagra Shiksha for all States/UTs, in alignment with NEP 2020.

*****

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 196 FOR REPLY ON 01 ST  DECEMBER, 2025 ASKED BY  HON'BLE  MEMBERS  OF  PARLIAMENT  SMT.  SHAMBHAVI,  DR.  D. PURANDESWARI, DR. LATA WANKHEDE, SHRI RAJESH VERMA AND SHRI ATUL GARG REGARDING SMART CLASSROOMS IN SCHOOLS

| Smart Classrooms Approved   | Smart Classrooms Approved   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
| States/UTs                  | Approval                    |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 49                          |
| Andhra Pradesh              | 6840                        |
| Arunachal Pradesh           | 345                         |
| Assam                       | 7146                        |
| Bihar                       | 11586                       |
| Chandigarh                  | 186                         |
| Chhattisgarh                | 10771                       |
| D&D - DNH                   | 192                         |
| Delhi                       | 5696                        |
| Goa                         | 87                          |
| Gujarat                     | 7155                        |
| Haryana                     | 3556                        |
| Himachal Pradesh            | 2858                        |
| Jammu and Kashmir           | 4428                        |
| Jharkhand                   | 2459                        |
| Karnataka                   | 4099                        |
| Kerala                      | 752                         |
| Ladakh                      | 165                         |
| Lakshadweep                 | 0                           |
| Madhya Pradesh              | 12573                       |
| Maharashtra                 | 6006                        |
| Manipur                     | 565                         |
| Meghalaya                   | 25                          |
| Mizoram                     | 244                         |
| Nagaland                    | 712                         |
| Odisha                      | 11776                       |
| Puducherry                  | 152                         |
| Punjab                      | 3928                        |
| Rajasthan                   | 16891                       |
| Sikkim                      | 301                         |
| Tamil Nadu                  | 9832                        |
| Telangana                   | 6248                        |
| Tripura                     | 1162                        |
| Uttar Pradesh               | 34533                       |
| Uttarakhand                 | 2829                        |
| West Bengal                 | 581                         |
| Total                       | 176728                      |

Source: PRABANDH Portal (as on 10.11.2025)