Kerala is the most literate state in the nation with 92.2%, followed by union territory Lakshadweep (91.85%).

The literacy rate of Indian women has risen throughout the years. According to the World Bank India study, just 1 in 11 females was literate at the time of India’s independence, roughly nine percent. And today, the women’s literacy rate has grown to 77% while India’s male literacy rate stands at 84.7%.

According to the government’s National Sample Survey report, Kerala is the most literate state in the nation with 92.2%, followed by union territory Lakshadweep (91.85%). The third-most literate state in the nation is Mizoram (91.33%). However, Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India at 61.8%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 65.3% and Rajasthan at 66.1%.

Yet, roughly 12.6% of pupils drop out of school in India, while 19.8% abandon education at the secondary level.

The figure is substantially greater for girls since they get married early and in many areas educating females is not even a priority and is considered an unnecessary investment. Worldwide, 1.8 million females are married underage.

In India, the literacy rate, especially the female literacy rate is abysmally low in rural regions and certain pockets of metropolitan areas. The literacy rate in rural India is 67.77% as opposed to 84.11% in urban India.

The Ministry of Education announced Samagra Shiksha Programme in 2018-19 that imagined the school as a continuum from preschool, primary, upper primary, and secondary to senior secondary levels.

Moreover, the officially funded initiative of Adult Education – Saakshar Bharat was also introduced to boost the literacy rate among adults.

The initiative was implemented in the rural regions of 404 districts in 26 states and one Union Territory, which had an adult female literacy rate of 50% and lower as per Census 2001.

The plan was extended up until March 31, 2018. During the implementation of the Saakshar Bharat scheme, against the overall target of making 7.00 crore adult non-literates as literates, around 7.64 crore learners who passed the biannual Basic Literacy Assessment Tests conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) between August 2010 to March 2018, were certified as literates.