Question

Interpret the data given in the table:

Sl. No.	Particulars	1990	2000	2011	2017-18
1.	Adult Literacy Rate (per cent of people aged 15+) 1.1 Male 1.2 Female	61.9 37.9	68.4 45.4	79 59	82 66
2.	Primary completion rate (per cent of relevant age group) 2.1 Male 2.2 Female	78 61	85 69	92 94	93 96
3.	Youth literacy rate (per cent of people aged 15+ to 24 3.1 Male 3.2 Female	76.6 54.2	79.7 64.8	90 82	93 90

Answer 1

1. The data shows a clear improvement in educational attainment in India between 1990 and 2017-18.
2. The adult literacy rate increased for both males and females. Male literacy rose from 61.9% to 82%, while female literacy increased from 37.9% to 66%. This shows considerable progress, although a gender gap still remains.
3. The primary completion rate also improved. For males, it increased from 78% to 93%, while for females it rose from 61% to 96%. By 2017–18, the female primary completion rate was slightly higher than that of males.
4. The youth literacy rate also increased significantly. Male youth literacy rose from 76.6% to 93%, while female youth literacy increased from 54.2% to 90%.
5. India has made substantial progress in education, especially in female literacy and primary education, but further improvement is still needed to achieve complete literacy and remove the remaining gender gap.