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Picture Courtesy: The Hindu

Context

Himachal Pradesh has been declared a 'fully literate' state under the ULLAS program.

What is the ULLAS Program?

• About: Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS), or New India Literacy Programme (NILP), is a centrally sponsored scheme (2022–2027).
• Target: Adults aged 15+ lacking formal education.
• Objectives: Impart foundational literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, and life skills (e.g., financial literacy).
• Alignment: Supports New Education Policy 2020 and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 100% literacy by 2030.

What is Literacy and Full Literacy?

• Literacy: Ability to read, write, compute with comprehension, plus digital/financial literacy.
• Functional Literacy: Skills for everyday tasks and community participation.
• Full Literacy: ≥95% literacy rate in a state/UT, per Education Ministry 2023 guidelines.
• Functional Literacy Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT), a 150-mark test by NIOS in chosen languages, certifies foundational literacy.

Himachal Pradesh’s Achievement

• Literacy Rate: 99.3%, exceeding the 95% full literacy benchmark. Joins Goa (99.72%), Mizoram (98.2%), Tripura (95.6%), and Ladakh (97%) as fully literate.
• Process: Identified non-literate adults via surveys, trained them under ULLAS, and ensured FLNAT certification.

Literacy at National Level

• Definition: Per Registrar General of India, literacy is reading/writing with understanding in any language (age 7+).
• Statistics:
• 2011 Census: National literacy 74%; men 80.9%, women 64.6%; adult (15+) 69.3%.
• PLFS 2023-24: National literacy 80.9%; Mizoram 98.2%, Goa 93.6%, Tripura 93.7%, Himachal 88.8%; 22.3% of 15+ population illiterate (lowest: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh).

Source: INDIANEXPRESS