ABSTRACT
India is the seventh largest and the second most populous country in the world, with 684 million people, over a sixth of the world's population. Distance education in India has a history of nearly three decades. Persistent efforts have been made by both government and voluntary organizations to achieve universal literacy and expand opportunities for female education. The Kothari Commission recommended that opportunities for parttime education through evening colleges and owntime education through correspondence courses be extended as widely as possible. At present in India, twenty-four Universities, four major Institutes and innumerable private institutions have started undergraduate, post-graduate legal and teacher training courses, with the basic aim of providing a second chance at a distance to those who have missed opportunities for higher education. India gives high priority to education as a facilitator of the development process and, because of the massive problems of illiteracy, the country has utilized the broad capabilities of technological distance education delivery systems.
