Of the total number of illiterate people in the world, half are in India. National programs for adult education in India are the Community Development Program, Farmers Functional Literacy Project, and National Adult Education Program, participants in which include voluntary agencies, state resource centers, and district resource units. When the State of Maharashtra came into existence in 1960, its three regions operated three different patterns of social education. The first task to which the new state addressed itself was unification of these varying patterns. The state decided to build upon the Gram Shikshan Mohim movement of the Satara district, which took the literacy movement to the villagers and asked them to solve their problems. The organization of the Mohim is simple. The village identifies illiterate people and educated social workers and then forms training groups and classes. Literacy classes last for 3-4 months and have an emphasis on general knowledge, including health. Classes participating in the Mohim are registered with the Education Department; social workers visit and guide activities. A celebration is held when 100 percent literacy is attained. A new approach to the Mohim is the addition of post-literacy classes and village development. Incentives and a literacy campaign are recommended to achieve the goal of 100 percent literacy. (Appendixes include two articles on the Mohim and a 26-item bibliography.) (YLB)