National Literacy Summit marks culmination of Room to Read India's 8th Edition of India, gets reading, bringing together over 53 lakh participants across 11 states

• Room to Read India's flagship reading campaign culminates with the National Literacy Summit 2026 in New Delhi, with the keynote address delivered by Hon'ble Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, IRS, Additional Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India
• Campaign held over three weeks celebrated reading as a pathway to comprehension, curiosity and self-expression, aligned with India’s NIPUN Bharat goals
• This year’s Read-a-Thon saw validated participation of over 47.6 lakh children and over 2.27 lakh teachers, with cumulative participation of over 53 lakh participants, including community members and government officials
• Room to Read India recognised by the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records for Maximum Participants in a Read-A-Thon Across Multiple Locations

NEW DELHI: Room to Read India hosted the National Literacy Summit 2026 at India International Centre, New Delhi, marking the culmination of the eighth edition of its flagship national reading campaign, India Gets Reading. Held from August 15 to September 8 under the theme My Words, My Story | मेरे शब्द, मेरी कहानी, the campaign championed reading beyond decoding words, encouraging children to question, imagine and express themselves in their own languages.

At the Summit, Room to Read India was felicitated by the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records for Maximum Participants in a Read-A-Thon Across Multiple Locations, with Poornima Garg, Country Director, Room to Read India, receiving the honour on behalf of the organisation. Held on 8th September, this year’s Read-a-Thon brought children, teachers, families, communities and government stakeholders together to read at the same time.

Following a validation of participation records, it recorded over 47.6 lakh children and over 2.27 lakh teachers, with cumulative participation of over 53 lakh participants across 11 states, namely Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Poornima Garg, Country Director, Room to Read India, said, “NIPUN Bharat has made foundational learning a national priority, and the focus has rightly shifted to learning outcomes. The task now is to sustain that momentum and ensure it translates into what happens inside the classroom, where a child must not only decode words but understand and respond to what they read. That depends heavily on the quality of what children read. Age-appropriate literature in languages children already know, teachers equipped to use it, and systems that make reading a regular part of school life must work together, at scale. Only then will a child in a remote district have the same opportunity to become a reader as a child anywhere else in India.”

The Summit brought together policymakers, educators, writers, publishers and librarians to examine what it takes for children to move from reading words to reading with meaning. Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, IRS, Additional Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, delivered the keynote address on Beyond Access: Strengthening Foundational Learning in India. She said, “Over five years, the NIPUN Bharat Mission has made the foundational stage a formal part of school education, and the results are showing.

More than five crore children in 8.8 lakh schools have benefited from the Vidya Pravesh school preparation module, and the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 found rural and government schools performing better than private schools. But there is still a long way to go. Access is largely in place. Beyond access, it is the teacher who matters most. Through the Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya, with over 7,000 books from 260 publishers, and language primers in about 127 languages, our aim is for every child to learn to read early so that they can read to learn for life.”

The day's conversations drew on deep and diverse perspectives from across the literacy and literary ecosystem, with speakers including Dr. Peggy Mohan (JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia), Ms. Karolina Brzozowska (IMC India), Dr. Shailaja Menon (Tata Trusts), Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen (IGNOU), Dr. Sunila John (Manipal Academy of Higher Education), Ms. Viji Thiyagarajan (British Council India), Mr. Karsten van Riezen (SIL Global), writer and poet Mr. Jerry Pinto, Ms. Lakshmi Karunakaran (Hasiru Dala), Smt. Prabha D. Sudagade (DSERT, Government of Karnataka), Ms. Roohi Sehgal (Dorling Kindersley Publishing), Ms. Anupama Benachinamaradi (Awwa Pustaka), Ms. Bunty Pai (Turning Pages Foundation) and Mr. Thejaswi Shivanand (Champaca Children's Library), among others.

Marking the culmination of the eighth edition of India Gets Reading, the Summit reaffirmed the belief at the heart of the campaign. It is not enough for children to decode words. They must find stories that let them think, question and see themselves. Every child brings their own language, voice and lived experience to a book, and stories in the languages spoken at home make reading something children can think in, question in and find themselves in.

About Room to Read India

Room to Read is a global organisation working to improve literacy and advance gender equality in education. Established in India in 2003, Room to Read India has partnered with state governments, communities and other stakeholders for over two decades to support systemic strengthening in foundational literacy and advance gender equality, helping children build strong reading and learning skills and enabling girls to develop the knowledge, skills and agency they need to thrive. The organisation has reached over 20 million children through programmes currently spanning 12 states across the country. Its programmes are aligned with India’s national education priorities, including the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission.