Literacy is considered to be the criteria for the development of any civilised society. Literacy is an indicator of the economy of a country, urbanisation, standard of living, caste composition, condition of women in society, educational facilities, development of modes of transport and technological development, etc.
Nature of literacy in India: In 2011, the literacy rate in India was 74.04%. Since 1961, there has been a rapid increase in the average literacy rate of India. But literacy rate of India has increased unevenly at the regional level. At present (in 2011), on the basis of variations found in literacy rates, the states of India can be categorized into the following groups:
1. States / union territories With literacy rate of more than 80%: In 2011, the states/ union territories with literacy rate of more than 80% were as follows:
Kerala (93.91%), Lakshadweep (92.28%), Mizoram ( 91.58%), Tripura (87.75%), Goa (87.40%), Daman and Diu (87.07%), Puducherry (86.55%), Chandigarh (86.43%), Chhattisgarh (86.40%), Delhi (86.34%), Andaman – Nicobar (86.27%), Himachal Pradesh (83.78%), Maharashtra (82.91%), Sikkim (82.28%), Tamil Nadu (80.33%) and Nagaland (80.11%).
2. States / union territories with literacy rate between 70% and 80%: In 2011, this group includes the following 10 states and one union territory in India: Manipur (79.85%), Uttarakhand (79.63%), Gujarat (79.31%), Dadra-Nagar Haveli (77.65%), West Bengal (77.08%), Punjab (76.68%), Haryana (76.64%), Karnataka (75.60%), Meghalaya (75.48%), Odisha (73.45%), Assam (73.18%) and Madhya Pradesh (70.63%).
3. States with literacy rate less than 70%: In 2011, the states with literacy rate of 65% to 70% include Uttar Pradesh (69.72%), Jammu – Kashmir (68.74%), Andhra Pradesh (67.70%), Jharkhand (67.63%), Rajasthan (67.06%), Arunachal Pradesh (670 %), and Bihar (63.82%).
