This is false if you are talking about the present day. The overall literacy rate for Indians aged fiften and older in 2018 (latest figures) was seventy-four percent.
It is important to note, however, that literacy is very unevenly spread in India. There are differences in:
- gender (men are substantially more literate then women),
- geography (Kerala is the most literate state in India, with close to ninety-five percent, while Bihar is the least literate one, with around sixty-five percent),
- urban development (the literacy rate is lower in rural areas than in cities).