By IANS,
Lucknow: Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari Saturday said India’s development would be fast-tracked from the day the country attained complete literacy.
Speaking at the Sakshar Bharat prize distribution ceremony of the National Literacy Mission Authority at the Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University here, Ansari said that if the number of literates increases in the country, India would become a centre of knowledge.
In his address, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav noted that his Samajwadi Party (SP) government had taken a host of decisions aimed at increasing literacy, specially amongst the women.
Citing some of the measures, he said that the government would provide for a free tablet for students passing class 10 and taking admission in class 11 and a laptop to all students who pass class 12 and take admission in degree colleges.
By doing so, the state government, other than benefitting the students, was also aiming at getting parents and guardians to get connected to internet and inprove their living standards by increasing their income, Akhilesh Yadav said.
He also said that his government had approved the centrally-aided national optical fibre network through which all the panchayats would et broadband access and the countryside would benefit immensely by the use of internet.
He also said that his government was working towards increasing the literacy of girls over 15 with the Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojna.
Through this scheme girls would be encouraged to go in for higher studies and be given Rs. 30,000 as encouragement. Girls from the minority community passing class 10 would also be given Rs.30,000 in financial aid, he said.