**Executive Summary**
This document presents the response of the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha regarding literacy rates in India. It outlines the government's "New India Literacy Programme (NILP)" (ULLAS) aimed at improving literacy among non-literates aged 15 years and above from 2022-2027. The document also provides the State/UT-wise literacy rate details, as per Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Annual Report 2023-24.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Government Initiative:**
* The Government of India is implementing the "New India Literacy Programme (NILP)" (ULLAS) from 2022-2027.
* ULLAS aligns with the National Education Policy 2020.
* The scheme aims to support all States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among non-literates.
* **Target Group:**
* The program targets non-literates aged 15 years and above who have missed formal schooling.
* **Definition of Literacy:**
* Literacy is defined as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, including critical life skills such as digital and financial literacy.
* **Full Literacy Criterion:**
* Achieving a literacy rate of 95% or above is the criterion for declaring a State/UT fully literate.
* Five States/UTs have achieved full literacy under ULLAS: Ladakh (2024), Mizoram (2025), Goa (2025), Tripura (2025), and Himachal Pradesh (2025).
* **Literacy Rate Data:**
* State/UT-wise literacy rates (in percent) in the age group of 7 and above as per Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Annual Report 2023-24, are listed in the Annexure.
* The all-India literacy rate is 80.90%.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Central Government (Ministry of Education)**
* **Impact:** Responsible for implementing and overseeing the NILP (ULLAS) program to improve literacy rates across India.
* **Action Required:** Continue to monitor the progress of the program and provide necessary support to the States and Union Territories.
**Stakeholder: State Governments and Union Territories**
* **Impact:** Responsible for implementing the NILP (ULLAS) program at the state and UT level, and providing educational opportunities to non-literates.
* **Action Required:** Utilize the NILP (ULLAS) program to promote literacy among non-literates, aiming to achieve a literacy rate of 95% or above to be declared fully literate.
**Stakeholder: Non-literate Individuals (aged 15 and above)**
* **Impact:** Direct beneficiaries of the program, gaining literacy skills and educational opportunities.
* **Action Required:** Participate in the NILP (ULLAS) program to acquire literacy skills, including reading, writing, comprehension, and critical life skills.
Key Entities Referenced
New India Literacy Programme (NILP): A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, also known as ULLAS, aimed at promoting literacy among non-literates aged 15 years and above, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.
National Education Policy 2020: A national policy document that provides the framework for elementary education to higher education in India.
Ministry of Education: The government ministry responsible for implementing the New India Literacy Programme (NILP).
Tamil Nadu: One of the States and Union Territories included in the implementation of NILP.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): A survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation which provides the data of literacy rate in India.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2384
ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025
Literacy Rate in India
2384. Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad :
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state :
(a) the number of districts declared as complete literate in the country, State/UT and
district-wise;
(b) the details of percentage of literate people in the country as on date, State/UT-wise and
district-wise in Tamil Nadu;
(c) the details of steps taken by the Government to solve the problem of illiteracy in the
country; and
(d) the details of the percentage of literacy in the country on a global scale?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (d) : The Government of India is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme
namely, “New India Literacy Programme (NILP)” popularly known as ULLAS
(Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram,
aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, from 2022-2027 to support all the States
and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, in promoting literacy among non-literates
across the country. The Scheme targets non-literates aged 15 years and above who have
missed formal schooling and provide educational opportunities to them to make them literate.
In context with ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram the Literacy is
defined as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, i.e. to identify,
understand, interpret and create, along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial
literacy, etc.The criterion for declaring a State/UT fully literate is achieving a literacy
rate of 95% or above. Till now, Five States/UTs Ladakh (2024), Mizoram (2025), Goa
(2025), Tripura (2025), and Himachal Pradesh (2025) have achieved full literacy under
ULLAS.
The details of State/UT-wise percentage of literate people in the Country as
per PLFS Report 2023-24 is at Annexure.
*****Annexure
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (d) OF THE LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2384 FOR 15.12.2025 ASKED BY
DR. M K VISHNU PRASAD, HON’BLE MP REGARDING “LITERACY RATE
IN INDIA”.
State/UT-wise Literacy Rate (in per cent) in the age group of 7 and above, as per
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Annual Report 2023-24 conducted by National
Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
As on date
Sl. No. States/UT Literacy Rate for 2023-24
Literacy Rate
1. Andhra Pradesh 72.60 -
2. Arunachal Pradesh 84.20 -
3. Assam 87.00 -
4. Bihar 74.30 -
5. Chhattisgarh 78.50 -
6. Delhi 86.90 -
7. Goa 93.60 99.72%
8. Gujarat 84.60 -
9. Haryana 84.80 -
10. Himachal Pradesh 88.80 99.30%
11. Jharkhand 76.70 -
12. Karnataka 82.70 -
13. Kerala 95.30 -
14. Madhya Pradesh 75.20 -
15. Maharashtra 87.30 -
16. Manipur 92.00 -
17. Meghalaya 94.20 -
18. Mizoram 98.20 98.20%
19. Nagaland 95.70 -
20. Odisha 79.00 -
21. Punjab 83.40 -
22. Rajasthan 75.80 -
23. Sikkim 84.70 -
24. Tamil Nadu 85.50 -
25. Telangana 76.90 -
26. Tripura 93.70 95.60%
27. Uttarakhand 83.80 -
28. Uttar Pradesh 78.20 -
29. West Bengal 82.60 -
30. Andaman & N. Island 91.10 -
31. Chandigarh 93.70 -
Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman -
32. 87.80
& Diu
33. Jammu & Kashmir 82.00 -
34. Ladakh 81.00 97.00%
35. Lakshadweep 97.30 -
36. Puducherry 92.70 -
All India 80.90 -
*****