Uttarakhand was declared India's sixth fully literate state on 8 July 2026, after the Governor approved the declaration following the fulfilment of literacy standards laid down by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education. The state's adult literacy rate, for those aged 15 and above, rose to 98.7%, comfortably above the 95% threshold required for a State or Union Territory to be declared "fully literate." Uttarakhand joins Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim on the list of states that had already achieved this status.

The achievement was driven by ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, also known as the New India Literacy Programme, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched by the Ministry of Education in 2022 in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and implemented over a five-year period from FY 2022 to FY 2027. ULLAS stands for "Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society," and its nodal agency is the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL). The scheme targets non-literate individuals aged 15 and above who missed formal schooling, with a national target of 5 crore learners, roughly 1 crore per year, over its five-year run.

Beyond Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, ULLAS also covers Critical Life Skills, such as financial and digital literacy and healthcare and family welfare, alongside Vocational Skills Development, Basic Education equivalency, and Continuing Education for lifelong learning.