Making India Totally Literate:  Lighting up the future of millions left behind

“I signed my name for the first time at 52. It felt like reclaiming a part of me I had lost long ago.”

Pushpa Devi, an adult learner from Odisha, had never been to school, shared her experience after attending Functional Literacy classes at a Vidya centre. Pushpa is now able to do basic banking and read Government schemes.

In a country that gave the world the concept of “Vidya”, it is painful to reckon with the fact that nearly 200 million adults in India still cannot read or write their own names.

Despite over 95% school enrolment, India’s literacy rate remains at just 74%, according to the 2011 Census. This gap is due to the silence of a generation left behind. These are women and men who were denied education due to poverty, discrimination, gender bias, or displacement, and who now live on the fringes of opportunity. They are voiceless in a democracy that relies on informed participation.

The Mission: Making India Totally Literate

IHF is spearheading a bold national movement to Making India Totally Literate. We see literacy not as a privilege, but as a right that must be reclaimed by those who lost it to life’s unfair odds.

VIDYA Centres: Accessible, Scalable, Sustainable 

We implement our Adult Literacy Program through a carefully designed, well tested model:

VIDYA: A structured institutional grassroots model delivered through NGO partners focusing on systematic implementation, scalability, and sustained engagement. “Akshar Saathi” or teachers teach 40 non-literate adults for 60 sessions at “Vidya” centres. Each learner uses a specially IHF-designed basic literacy toolkit. Detailed monitoring is conducted to check attendance and performance of beneficiaries. More than 5,200 centres are currently functioning India wide.

“It’s not a classroom. It’s a circle of dignity, where women learn to write their names and their futures.”  – Rekha Sen, IHF Volunteer, West Bengal

The core goal is empowering adults with the ability to read, write, and count — tools that unlock access to dignity, and informed citizenship.

Lives Transformed: A Nationwide Movement in Motion

What began as a dream has today become a nationwide movement, powered by teachers, volunteers, NGOs, corporate partners, and a growing network of changemakers. We have already reached over 300,000 adult learners, many of whom are daily wage earners, domestic workers, farmers, and senior citizens. From women in tribal communities in Rajasthan to inmates of correctional homes in West Bengal, the movement is steadily making an impact in India.

Their stories move us every day — like that of Shanti Devi, a 58-year-old in rural Jharkhand who, after attending VIDYA classes, read a letter from her grandson for the very first time. She wept — not from sadness, but from the joy of finally having a window to the world that had always been closed to her. 

“I was ashamed to admit I couldn’t read. Today I read newspapers out loud to my grandchildren.”  – Munni Bai, 54, Rajasthan

The Invitation

Literacy is not just about learning the alphabet. It is about dignity and hope. And while  the challenge is massive, so is our determination. 

At IHF, we believe this mission belongs to all of us — every Indian, every global citizen,  every soul who dreams of a better world. We invite you to join us — as partners, as  champions — in making India Totally Literate. 

Let us not rest until every hand can sign, every heart can read, and every voice can rise. To support this mission and help more adults learn to read and write, you can make a contribution at https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/L2SWXCMFHUYLY

Every dollar brings someone closer to dignity and empowerment. To make an adult literate it costs only $7 dollars.

All donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. and will be received by Economic Development/Microfinance Empowerment Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization [EIN: 36-2944336]. 

 Your contribution will directly support literacy programs in India. For any questions or documentation, please email us at info@ihf.org.in.

About the Author

Shekhar Mehta Chairman, India Humanity Foundation
Shekhar Mehta, the 4th Indian to become Rotary International President (2021-22) in 120 years, is renowned for his global humanitarian work. He has led major initiatives like constructing 500 homes for Tsunami survivors, providing 2,500 paediatric heart surgeries, spearheading the India wide T-E-A-C-H literacy program etc. He has been a Trustee of Shelter Box UK and is chair of the India branch of Operation Eyesight Universal Canada. As President of Rotary International, he travelled more than 40 countries in a year meeting more than 30 heads of State as Ambassador of Service. He is the recipient of prestigious awards like the “Service Above Self”, “Mahatma Award” for Global Social Impact and recognition from the highest authorities including Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

About India Humanity Foundation (IHF)

IHF works across six areas of service – Literacy, Disaster Management, Health, Hunger Alleviation, Water Body Rejuvenation, and Environment – with Adult Literacy as its core focus. Learn more at www.ihf.org.in