Literacy plays an important role to develop any country or society. Literacy can lead to health awareness and empower people to participate in the cultural and economic well being of the country. Though literacy has improved considerably after Independence, it still lags behind compared to other countries. National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) estimates that India is growing at a slower rate of 1.5 percent per year in Literacy. The good news is that the rate of literacy in rural areas is increasing. As compared to 2004-05, the literacy rate increased by two percent for the rural population and one percent in urban areas during 2005-06. India’s average literacy rate is pegged at 65.38 percent. The male literacy rate is 75.96 percent and female literacy rate is 54.28 percent.

Literacy varies considerably across gender, across regions and across social groups. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes have lower rates of literacy, and rates of female literacy within these groups are even lower. Regional variations are still very wide, with states like Kerala (90.92) approaching universal literacy, while states like Bihar (47.53) are lagging far behind. Government has taken initiatives to increase literacy rates by launching different programs. One of the initiatives is Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, which was launched in 2001 to ensure that all children in the age group 6–14 years attend school and complete eight years of schooling by 2010. The National Literacy Mission launched in 1988 imparts functional literacy to non-literates in the age group of 15–35 years. With all these efforts India is one of the countries where the literacy levels are still below the threshold level of 75 percent. Unless various challenges in the existing education system are addressed its difficult to increase the literacy rate in India.