Over 1 crore illiterate people in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Aug 27: More than one crore people in Odisha are illiterate, School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said on Thursday.

According to the 2011 census, Odisha has a total population of about 4.2 crore.

Replying to a question of BJP MLA Dillip Ray, he told the assembly that 1.01 crore people -- comprising 32.72 lakh males and 69.27 lakh females -- were illiterate in Odisha.

About 28.96 lakh Scheduled Caste people and 53.73 lakh Scheduled Tribe people were illiterate, who accounted for about 81 percent of the total illiterate people in the state, the minister added.

The state government has targeted providing education to about 27.77 lakh women of 19 districts under the 'Saakshar Bharat Yojana' by March 2017, he said.

Mishra said mid-day meals were being provided in 62,642 schools in the state while Rs.2,969 crore has been spent for the programme in the past four years.