Ministry of Education
Ensure all children attain basic reading and arithmetic by end of Grade 3 by 2026-27
NIPUN Bharat (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy) targets universal foundational literacy and numeracy for children in Grades 1-3 across all government schools.
Overall Progress
Ministry of Education
₹26,000 crore (Samagra Shiksha FLN component)
March 31, 2027
Progress Snapshot
58% of states report Grade 3 FL targets met (target: 100%)
58%Last updated: Apr 12, 2026 · Source: NIPUN Bharat Dashboard
Milestones
All states NIPUN onboarded
Target: Mar 2022
Completed ✓
50% states Grade 3 target met
Target: Mar 2025
58% — ahead
75% states Grade 3 target met
Target: Mar 2026
At risk
100% Grade 3 literacy
Target: Mar 2027
Uncertain
Update Log
Apr 12, 2026
NIPUN dashboard: 18 of 31 states report Grade 3 reading targets met. ASER independent assessment confirms results in 12 of those 18.
Mar 22, 2026
NCERT assessment report notes improvement in FLN scores in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh — but decline in 5 BIMARU states.
Feb 10, 2026
Ministry launches 'Mission 100' push to enroll 1 crore out-of-school children — critical for FLN targets.
Jan 8, 2026
ASER Rural 2023 data reconfirmed: only 50% of Grade 5 students could read Grade 2 text, raising questions about FLN quality.
How we track this
We track NIPUN Bharat's own state-level progress data supplemented by ASER's independent ground assessments. ASER 2023 found only 50% of Grade 5 students could read a Grade 2 text, providing a benchmark against official claims.