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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4934
ANSWERED ON 23/03/2026
Lack of Internet Connectivity in Rural Schools
4934. Shri Adhikari Deepak Dev:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has assessed the lack of internet connectivity in schools in rural
areas in the country, if so, the details thereof;
(b) the total number and percentage at schools in rural areas that do not have internet
connectivity;
(c) whether the Government has assessed the impact on learning among students in
Government schools in rural areas lacking internet connectivity; and
(d) if so, the details of the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (d): 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 to
enhance digital learning in Government schools across the country, including rural areas.
At present, across India, 9,33,987 (63.5%) schools have internet connection. The State/UT
wise list of rural schools with internet connection as per UDISE+ FY2024-25 report has been
annexed.
Availability of internet connectivity in the government schools in rural areas enables
dissemination of digital content to teachers and students through Digital Infrastructure for
Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) It is the Nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality
e-content for school education in States/UTs and QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for
all grades (One Nation, One Digital platform). It also helps the students and teachers to get
access to e-learning, teacher training, inclusive education, bridging the urban-rural education
and latest technological interventions like AI. Reliable internet connectivity acts as the
backbone for effective outreach of these digital programmes.
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.
*************Annexure
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY OF PART (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4934 RAISED BY SHRI ADHIKARI DEEPAK DEV,
HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 REGARDING “LACK
OF INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IN RURAL SCHOOLS”.
Table: State/UT wise number of schools having internet facility as per UDISE+ for FY2024-25
Schools with internet % of Schools with
S. No India/State/ UT Total Schools
facility available internet facility
India 14,71,473 9,33,987 63.5%
1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 408 264 64.7%
2 Andhra Pradesh 61,317 60,731 99.0%
3 Arunachal Pradesh 3,229 1,086 33.6%
4 Assam 55,283 48,201 87.2%
5 Bihar 94,339 80,035 84.8%
6 Chandigarh 207 207 100.0%
7 Chhattisgarh 56,802 36,511 64.3%
Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman
8 433 431 99.5%
and Diu
9 Delhi 5,556 5,556 100.0%
10 Goa 1,479 1,379 93.2%
11 Gujarat 53,355 51,514 96.5%
12 Haryana 23,494 18,539 78.9%
13 Himachal Pradesh 17,330 11,011 63.5%
14 Jammu and Kashmir 24,192 11,883 49.1%
15 Jharkhand 44,376 25,715 57.9%
16 Karnataka 74,859 37,921 50.7%
17 Kerala 15,757 14,442 91.7%
18 Ladakh 961 488 50.8%
19 Lakshadweep 36 36 100.0%
20 Madhya Pradesh 1,22,120 55,865 45.7%
21 Maharashtra 1,08,250 78,084 72.1%
22 Manipur 4,666 1,709 36.6%
23 Meghalaya 14,587 3,858 26.4%
24 Mizoram 3,974 2,580 64.9%
25 Nagaland 2,750 1,622 59.0%
26 Odisha 61,565 51,588 83.8%
27 Puducherry 763 760 99.6%
28 Punjab 27,281 24,249 88.9%
29 Rajasthan 1,06,302 74,358 69.9%
30 Sikkim 1,245 643 51.6%
31 Tamil Nadu 57,935 49,211 84.9%
32 Telangana 43,154 27,309 63.3%
33 Tripura 4,943 2,059 41.7%
34 Uttar Pradesh 2,62,358 1,20,465 45.9%
35 Uttarakhand 22,452 16,236 72.3%
36 West Bengal 93,715 17,441 18.6%