Education

Uttarakhand Becomes India's Sixth Fully Literate State Under ULLAS

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Thursday, 9 July 2026 2 min readSource: MintArticle 10 of 20

Uttarakhand has become India's sixth fully literate state under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) programme, officials announced. The state's literacy rate now exceeds 98 per cent, and it met the Centre's adult literacy benchmark for the recognition. Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) Gurmeet Singh approved the proposal declaring the state fully literate, after the state Cabinet cleared it on June 19. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami described the achievement as the result of collective efforts towards Viksit Bharat. With this milestone, Uttarakhand joins five states that earlier attained full literacy status: Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. ULLAS, also called the New India Literacy Programme, focuses on adult and lifelong learning for those who missed formal schooling.

Key Facts & Details

9 points

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Uttarakhand became India's sixth fully literate state under NEP 2020 and the ULLAS programme.
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ULLAS stands for Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society, also known as the New India Literacy Programme.
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The state's literacy rate now exceeds 98 per cent, meeting the Centre's adult literacy benchmark.
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Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) Gurmeet Singh approved the proposal after the state Cabinet cleared it on June 19.
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Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called it a product of collective efforts towards Viksit Bharat.
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The five states that achieved full literacy earlier are Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Deep Dive

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A state is recognised as fully literate on meeting the government's adult literacy benchmark under the ULLAS framework.
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ULLAS targets adults aged 15 and above who missed the chance of formal education, covering foundational literacy and numeracy.
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The milestone was formally announced on Wednesday, with officials briefing PTI on July 8, 2026.

Exam Focus

Which state became India's sixth fully literate state, under which programme, the literacy figure, and the earlier five states.

Exam Relevance & Angle

State literacy milestones under NEP 2020 and ULLAS are high-frequency education and government-scheme questions. Examiners test the state (Uttarakhand), its rank (sixth), the programme's full form (ULLAS), and the earlier states — a compact, examinable cluster of facts.

Target Exams

SBI POIBPS POSSC CGLSSC CHSLRRB NTPCUPSC CSEState PCS

Background & Context

The ULLAS scheme, or New India Literacy Programme, is a centrally sponsored initiative aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 that aims to achieve full adult literacy and impart foundational education to citizens aged 15 and above who could not attend school. It covers foundational literacy and numeracy along with critical life skills, and relies heavily on volunteers and community participation. Under the programme's framework, a state or Union Territory is declared fully literate once it crosses the prescribed adult literacy benchmark. Full literacy does not mean every individual is literate, but that the state has met the threshold set by the Centre, reflecting a major push in India's decades-long campaign against illiteracy.