40 Years Ago...and now: Marked variation in literacy

Education is an engine of socio-economic development; investment in this segment helps stimulate labour productivity and promotes social development. With education becoming the dominant selection criteria in labour markets, it is increasingly being seen as the passport to upward mobility. Governments try to play a role in this segment by expanding the capacity of public education systems and providing subsidies for the less affluent sections of society.

Through the past decades, India has made considerable progress in enhancing education opportunities. In 1971, the country's literacy rate was 34.5 per cent; this increased to 73 per cent in 2011, it was estimated. However, as various studies have shown, marked variation in literacy rates exists across states. While the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have higher literacy rates than the national average, the rates of northern and central states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand are lower.

Through the past decade, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have seen higher percentage-point rises in literacy rates. Further, along with Odisha and Rajasthan, these three states have seen the sharpest rise in women literacy rates (for those aged at least seven) during the same period. The differences in educational achievement can be attributed to varied efforts by the state governments in this regard.