Overview

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the designation on September 8 in Shimla during International Literacy Day events.
• The state joins Tripura, Mizoram and Goa in receiving full literacy recognition, with Ladakh earlier named the first fully literate Union Territory.
• Under ULLAS, a jurisdiction is deemed fully literate when at least 95% of people aged 15+ can read, write and perform basic numeracy, a benchmark Himachal officials say the state exceeded at 99.30%.
• Central authorities highlighted programme scale: over 3 crore enrolled learners, about 42 lakh volunteers, nearly 1.83 crore foundational assessments with roughly 90% success, and learning materials in 26 Indian languages.
• Leaders presented the milestone as a platform for expanded skill-based and digital learning linked to livelihoods, noting national progress to 80.9% literacy alongside persistent gaps.