New Delhi – The United States and India launched a reading initiative to improve the reading skills of millions of primary school-aged children in India.  The READ (Read-Engage-Achieve-Dream) Alliance is a $3.2 million partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Indian Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS).

Announcing the first call for proposals under READ’s innovation challenge, which seeks to discover and test reading solutions, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Michael Pelletier said, “The moment a child learns to read is the moment she or he has obtained the single most important skill that one needs to have the best possible chances in life.  I am confident that the READ Alliance will help put millions of Indian children on a path of lifelong learning.”

The event featured an expert panel discussion and reading exhibition. A synopsis of CKS’s"7 Steps to Reading" report, which provides a plan for improving the reading abilities of India’s children, was also released at the event in the presence of more than 100 representatives from corporations, non-profit organizations, academia, and government committed to promoting early literacy.

Chargé Pelletier was joined by National Book Trust Director M. A Sikander, Jameel Poverty Action Lab Deputy Director John Floretta, and  CKS Founder and CEO Dr. Aditya Dev Sood.