Saakshar Bharat is a government of India initiative launched by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to create a literate society through a variety of teaching learning programmes for non-literate and neo-literate of 15 years and above. It was launched on 8 September 2009 as a centrally sponsored scheme.
It aims to recast India's National Literacy Mission to focus on literacy of women, which is expected to increase the literate population by 70 million adults, including 60 million women.
It is a scheme from Department of School Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The National Literacy Mission covered 597 districts under Total Literacy Campaign, 485 districts under Post Literacy Programme and 328 districts under Continuing Education Programme. As per 2001 census, over 127 million adults have been made literate of which 60% were women, 23% were SC and 12% were ST.
The Saakshar Bharat Mission has chosen six villages for 'Model Adult Education Centres' under Lok Shiksha Samiti in the Karimnagar district, in Telangana state. with the objective of promoting adult education and to achieve total literacy.
Adult education aims at extending educational options to those adults, who have lost the opportunity and have crossed the age of formal education, but now feel a need for learning of any type, including literacy, basic education, skill development and equivalency. At present there is at least one adult education centre in each district in every village.