SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir was granted approval for 1,915 ICT labs and 3,910 smart classrooms under the Samagra Shiksha scheme during the five financial years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, according to the Union Ministry of Education.
The figures were provided by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1155, raised by Kadiyam Kavya and Shri Appalanaidu Kalisetti and answered on July 27, 2026.
According to the ministry’s data, JK received approval for 534 ICT labs in 2025-26, 598 in 2024-25, 172 in 2023-24, 203 in 2022-23 and 408 in 2021-22. The corresponding number of smart classrooms approved was 1,001, 1,703, 372, 834 and zero respectively.
The Union Government approved financial assistance of Rs 15,475.6 lakh for ICT labs and smart classrooms in JK over the five-year period. The annual approvals stood at Rs 3,948.3 lakh in 2025-26, Rs 5,573.9 lakh in 2024-25, Rs 1,330.7 lakh in 2023-24, Rs 3,300.8 lakh in 2022-23 and Rs 1,321.9 lakh in 2021-22.
Ladakh, meanwhile, was sanctioned 141 ICT labs and 127 smart classrooms during the same period. The Union Territory received financial approval totalling Rs 890.4 lakh for the two categories, with Rs 111.7 lakh approved in 2025-26, Rs 190.1 lakh in 2024-25, Rs 163 lakh in 2023-24, Rs 112 lakh in 2022-23 and Rs 313.6 lakh in 2021-22.
Nationally, the Ministry of Education approved 73,308 ICT labs and 1,36,382 smart classrooms across States and Union Territories during 2021-22 to 2025-26. Of these, 37,511 ICT labs and 82,856 smart classrooms had been completed, according to Annexure 5 of the parliamentary reply.
JK’s five-year total of 1,915 sanctioned ICT labs accounted for about 2.6 per cent of the national total, while its 3,910 sanctioned smart classrooms represented about 2.9 per cent. Ladakh accounted for about 0.2 per cent of national approvals in each category.
The Union Government’s financial approval for digital learning infrastructure across the country totalled Rs 649,727.8 lakh over the five years. JK’s Rs 15,475.6 lakh represented around 2.4 per cent of the national amount, while Ladakh’s Rs 890.4 lakh accounted for around 0.14 per cent.
The ministry’s national infrastructure data also showed that, besides digital facilities, 42,319 additional classrooms, 11,791 biology labs, 11,331 chemistry labs, 11,266 physics labs, 4,796 science labs, 15,494 drinking-water facilities, 42,057 girls’ toilets, 41,635 boys’ toilets, 20,885 toilets for children with special needs (CWSN) and 2,910 library rooms were approved under Samagra Shiksha during the period.
Of these, 21,775 additional classrooms, 978 biology labs, 910 chemistry labs, 916 physics labs, 3,118 science labs, 13,878 drinking-water facilities, 29,679 girls’ toilets, 27,968 boys’ toilets, 14,025 CWSN toilets and 2,004 library rooms had been completed.
The reply said the Ministry of Education implements technology-enabled initiatives, including PM eVidya and DIKSHA, under Samagra Shiksha to support digital learning in government schools. ICT labs and smart classrooms are sanctioned according to requirements submitted by States and Union Territories through their Annual Work Plan and Budget.
The Union Government said PM eVidya, launched on May 17, 2020, brings together digital, online and on-air education initiatives. Its key components include 200 DTH TV channels and 400 radio channels intended to provide supplementary education for Classes 1 to 12 in various Indian languages.
The ministry said DIKSHA, the national digital platform for school education, provides e-content and QR-coded Energised Textbooks and supports both online and offline access. Overall, 579.41 crore learning sessions involving 2.29 crore users had been completed on the platform by the time of the reply. States, Union Territories and autonomous bodies had generated and contributed more than 3.67 lakh pieces of content in mother, local and regional languages.
The parliamentary reply did not provide a separate Jk-wise or Ladakh-wise breakup of expenditure incurred and completed works under the broader categories of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, drinking water and sanitation. The detailed Annexure 5 supplied in response to these parts gave national figures, while a separate district-level progress table was provided for Warangal in Telangana.
The ministry also stated that education is a subject on the Concurrent List and that most government schools are administered by State Governments and their agencies.
