Parliament Question: Promotion of Digital Education in Jammu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3661 ANSWERED ON 10.08.2026 Promotion of Digital Education in Jammu †3661. Shri Jugal Kishore: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the steps taken by the Government to promote digital education in Jammu Lok Sabha Constituency; (b) the details of the number of schools which have been equipped with digital facilities; (c) whether the Government has any special scheme to increase the availability of internet and digital resources in remote and hilly areas, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of long-term strategy of the Government to modernize the education system in future? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): The Government has been promoting digital education in school education through various initiatives under Samagra Shiksha, in alignment with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to States and Union Territories (UTs), including the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, based on their Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B), as approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) in consultation with the respective State/UT. The assistance supports the strengthening of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, including ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms, in Government and Government-aided schools having classes VI to XII, including those located in rural, remote and hilly areas. To enhance digital connectivity and access to digital resources in remote and hilly areas, the Government has announced broadband connectivity to all Government Secondary Schools in rural areas under the BharatNet project in the Union Budget 2025. In addition, the Ministry implements digital education initiatives such as DIKSHA and PM eVidya to provide equitable access to quality digital learning resources. Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) is the national digital platform for school education, providing curriculum-aligned e-content, including QR-coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs), teacherresources and other learning materials. The platform supports both online and offline access, enabling learners to download content and continue learning without internet connectivity, thereby ensuring wider and equitable access to quality educational resources. PM eVidya, launched on 17th May, 2020 as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, integrates digital, online and on-air education initiatives to enable multimode access to education across the country. States/UTs collaborate with NCERT to contextualize, monitor and evaluate these initiatives, while NCERT provides continuous academic support and guidance. Further, ePathshala, developed by NCERT, provides free access to NCERT textbooks (Classes I to XII), audio-visual resources and teacher training modules through its website and mobile application, enabling learners and teachers to access educational content anytime and anywhere. As reported by the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, in the Jammu Lok Sabha Constituency, 711 Government schools at the Elementary, Secondary and Senior Secondary levels have been approved for ICT Labs and further, 530 schools have been approved for Smart Classrooms. The long-term strategy of the Government is to modernize the school education system based on the NEP, 2020. Towards this, saturation of ICT labs, smart classrooms, science labs in Government Secondary Schools have been undertaken under Samagra Shiksha. ****