India has a long way to go in education: PM

New Delhi, Aug 4: "According to UNESCO"s Global Monitoring Report 2006, out of 771 million illiterates in the world, 268 million are estimated to be residing in India, which accounts for nearly one-third of the world"s non-literates," Manmohan Singh said, on Tuesday, Aug 3.

The PM was speaking at a lecture of his school friend and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen organised by Pratichi Trust, Asian Development Research Institute and the National Literacy Mission.

"We still have a very long way to go in spreading education," Manmohan Singh said, referring to significant gains India has made in the field.

PM said the government has taken a series of important steps in the past six years "to make the light of literacy and education shine for every child, every citizen - irrespective of gender, caste or religion".

Even though India"s GDP has recorded a very high growth rate in the recent past, the inferior literacy status of the country has contributed to the lowering of its position in the UNDP"s Human Development Index.

OneIndia News