Executive Summary:
This document is the response of the Ministry of Education to questions raised in Lok Sabha regarding e-learning hubs and digital infrastructure, specifically in border districts. It clarifies that while there is no specific scheme called "eLearning Hubs" or a "Village Digital Equity Index," several digital education initiatives are in place. These initiatives, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aim to improve digital learning and provide resources to schools, including those in rural areas.
Key Points / Main Content:
Digital Education Initiatives:
* The Ministry of Education implements ICT and Digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha to enhance digital learning in government schools nationwide.
* PM eVidya, launched under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, unifies digital/online/on-air education efforts, enabling multi-mode access.
* States/UTs collaborate with NCERT to utilize, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives.
* PM eVidya includes 200 DTH TV Channels and 400 Radio channels for supplementary education in various Indian languages for classes 1-12. Punjab has been allotted five channels (PB PM eVIDYA 143 to PB PM eVIDYA 147).
* DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) is a national digital platform providing quality e-content, including QR-coded Energized Textbooks (ETBs).
* States/UTs/ABs have contributed over 3.69 lakh content items in local/regional languages on DIKSHA.
* Over 564.05 crore learning sessions have been completed on DIKSHA.
* Stakeholders have access to more than 300 Virtual Labs on DIKSHA. Punjab has 6.60 lakh registered users, 8.40 Cr Learning sessions and 75.41 Cr Learning minutes and has uploaded 79 Digital Textbooks and 6,350 econtent.
* SWAYAM portal, under the NMEICT scheme, provides free, high-quality educational content with over 16,530 courses, including 4,100 unique courses. Enrolments have crossed 5 Crore mark, with more than 1.62 crore unique learners.
* NISHTHA is a national mission for integrated teacher training, offered online via DIKSHA by NCERT.
Infrastructure and Connectivity:
* Broadband connectivity to all Government Secondary schools in rural areas, including Punjab, will be provided under the BharatNet project.
* Funds are provided under Samagra Shiksha for setting up ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms based on State requirements submitted in the Annual Work Plan Budget (AWPB).
* Supplementary Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting on 28th May 2025 approved 20,456 ICT Labs (Rs. 911.13 crore) and 29,896 Smart Classrooms (Rs. 630.38 crore), in addition to earlier approval of 1,56,213 ICT Labs and 1,46,040 Smart Classrooms including State of Punjab.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments/UTs:
* Impact: Responsible for administering most schools and collaborating with NCERT to implement and monitor digital education initiatives.
* Action Required: Utilize and evaluate digital initiatives as per their requirements, contribute content to DIKSHA in local/regional languages, and submit requirements for ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms in the Annual Work Plan Budget (AWPB).
Schools (Government Secondary Schools in Rural Areas):
* Impact: Will receive broadband connectivity and benefit from the setup of ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms.
* Action Required: Utilize the provided digital infrastructure and resources to enhance teaching and learning processes.
Teachers:
* Impact: Will participate in teacher training programs like NISHTHA to integrate technology into education.
* Action Required: Engage in NISHTHA courses and use DIKSHA platform for professional development.
Students:
* Impact: Will have access to digital learning resources, including online content, virtual labs, and supplementary education via DTH TV and Radio channels.
* Action Required: Utilize the available digital resources on platforms like DIKSHA and SWAYAM to enhance their learning experience.
NCERT:
* Impact: Plays a key role in developing and delivering online courses and educational content.
* Action Required: Collaborate with States/UTs to effectively implement and monitor digital education initiatives, and offer online courses via DIKSHA.
Key Entities Referenced
Digital India Mission: A Government of India initiative to ensure that Government services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity.
National Education Policy NEP 2020: A comprehensive framework for elementary education to higher education as well as vocational training in India.
PM eVidya: A comprehensive initiative initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multimode access to education across the country.
Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan: A self-reliant India campaign to make India a bigger and more important part of the global economy.
Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing DIKSHA: Nation's digital platform for providing quality e-content for school education.
National Mission in Education through ICT NMEICT: A scheme by the Ministry of Education to leverage the potential of ICT in teaching and learning process.
Study Webs of ActiveLearning for Young Aspiring Minds SWAYAM: A portal to make available high-quality content to learners free of cost.
National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement NISHTHA: A National mission to improve learning outcomes at the School Education level through an integrated teacher training programme.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 302
ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025
e-Learning Hubs
†*302. SHRI SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to increase the availability of e-learning hubs and
wireless internet infrastructure at village level in the border districts of Gurdaspur and
Pathankot in Punjab under Digital India Mission;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce Village Digital Equity Index to
provide digital resources to backward and digitally deprived villages on priority basis;
(d) whether any proposal is under consideration of the Government to formulate a special
digital education plan for rural children; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF EDUCATION
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
*****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK
SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 302 FOR 11.08.2025 ASKED BY SHRI
SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
REGARDING E-LEARNING HUBS
(a) to (e): Education is part of the Concurrent List of the Constitution and most of the schools
are under the administration of the respective State Governments. While this Ministry does
not compute Village Digital Equity Index and there is no scheme specifically called “e-
Learning Hubs” under its purview, there are several comprehensive digital education
initiatives undertaken for rural students. This Ministry implements ICT and Digital initiatives
under Samagra Shiksha, aligned with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to enhance
digital learning in Government schools across the country. These initiatives aim to enhance
the quality of education by integrating technology into learning and teaching processes.
To facilitate the online learning by all students including those in the border districts
of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, a comprehensive initiative called „PM eVidya‟ was initiated as
part of „Atma Nirbhar 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. States/UTs collaborate with NCERT to utilise, monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of these initiatives as per their requirements. PM eVidya includes 200 DTH TV
Channels allotted to States/UTs/ABs/Other Ministries and 400 Radio channels to enable them
to provide supplementary education as per their requirement in various Indian languages for
classes 1-12. The State of Punjab has been allotted five channels (PB PM eVIDYA 143 to PB
PM eVIDYA 147) under the „PM eVidya‟ initiative of the Ministry of Education.
Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) is the Nation‟s digital
platform for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs along with QR
coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for all grades (One Nation, One Digital platform). As a
participant in DIKSHA, States/UTs/ABs have generated and contributed over 3.69 lakh
content in local/regional languages. Overall, 564.05 crore learning sessions have been
completed on DIKSHA by students, teachers and other stakeholders. The stakeholders have
access to more than 300 Virtual Labs on DIKSHA.
Punjab is one of the participants on DIKSHA and has 6.60 lakh registered users with
Learning sessions of 8.40 Cr+ and 75.41 Cr+ Learning minutes. The State has uploaded 79
Digital Textbooks and has 6,350 e-content on DIKSHA.
Under National Mission in Education through ICT (NMEICT) Scheme, Ministry of
Education in collaboration with IIT Madras has launched Study Webs of Active-Learning for
Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) portal to make available high-quality content to learners
free of cost with the approach of “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime Learning”. SWAYAM portal
provides high-quality educational content across various domains, curated by premier
Institutions for a well-rounded learning experience. The platform has hosted over 16,530
courses, including 4,100 unique courses till date. The cumulative enrolments have crossed 5
Crore mark, with more than 1.62 crore unique learners.The Ministry of Education (MoE) is implementing a National mission to improve
learning outcomes at the School Education level through an integrated teacher training
programme called „National Initiative for School Heads‟ and Teachers‟ Holistic
Advancement‟ (NISHTHA). NISHTHA courses have been designed and are run for
Elementary, Secondary, FLN, ECCE and Educational Technology and are offered online by
NCERT on the DIKSHA platform using high-quality professionally made e-content.
Additionally, the Government of India, in the Budget 2025, has announced provision
of broadband connectivity to all Government Secondary schools in rural areas, including
Punjab, under the „BharatNet‟ project to enhance digital infrastructure in remote areas by
BSNL in a phased manner.
The Ministry of Education implements ICT and Digital initiatives under Samagra
Shiksha, aligned with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to enhance digital learning in
Government schools across the country. The initiatives aim to enhance the quality of
education by integrating technology into teaching and learning processes including hardware,
software, tablets, laptops, and training resources, supporting digital boards, virtual
classrooms, and DTH channels. Under the scheme, funds are provided for setting up ICT
Labs and Smart Classrooms according to the requirement of State submitted in the Annual
Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B).
To saturate all secondary and higher secondary schools with ICT Labs and Smart
Classrooms, a Supplementary Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting was held on 28th May
2025. A total of 20,456 ICT Labs and 29,896 Smart Classrooms have been approved, with
financial approval of Rs. 911.13 crore for ICT Labs and Rs. 630.38 crore for Smart
Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha, in addition to earlier approval of 1,56,213 ICT Labs and
1,46,040 Smart Classrooms including State of Punjab.
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