The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar launched a central sector scheme named the Scheme for Economic Empowerment for DNTs, (SEED) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
As per Census 2011, the absolute number of non-literates of the country in 15 years and above age group is 25.76 crore (Male 9.08 crore, Female 16.68 crore).