Chitram, Next Skills 360's AI-powered multilingual vocabulary platform, gives government primary schools and Anganwadis a practical, phone-ready answer to India's NIPUN Bharat vocabulary gap. Children aged 3–10 draw doodles on any phone or tablet; an LLM engine delivers personalised bilingual feedback — no computer lab, no procurement overhead, no rote drills required. Every Block Education Officer searching for a 'block buddy scratch' activity is really asking the same question: how do we make vocabulary stick for children who have never touched a computer? In 2026, India's NIPUN Bharat mission demands that every child reach foundational literacy by the end of Grade 3 — and rote drills simply are not delivering. Chitram, NextSkills360's AI-powered multilingual draw-to-learn platform, offers a practical, phone-ready answer for government primary schools and Anganwadis across India.

What 'Block Buddy Scratch' Really Means for FLN Classrooms

When educators and Block Education Officers search for a block buddy scratch activity, they are looking for something specific: a tangible, block-based or activity-based learning companion that lets young children engage with vocabulary without needing computers or prior literacy skills. The word "scratch" here is not about the MIT coding platform — it captures the intuitive, gesture-driven, doodle-and-mark interaction style that works naturally for children aged 3–10. This search intent maps precisely onto Chitram's design philosophy. Rather than asking a pre-literate child to read or type, Chitram invites the child to scratch out a doodle — a drawing of whatever word or concept the teacher has introduced. An LLM engine then responds with personalised vocabulary feedback, turning the child's own creative act into the starting point for learning. For a deeper look at how block-based and scratch-style approaches fit into India's coding and literacy landscape, see [Block Buddy & Scratch: Coding Starter | Next Skills 360](https://www.nextskills360.in/blog/block-buddy-scratch-best-coding-starter-for-schools-2026). Chitram is that bridge — from hands-on instinct to AI-powered language growth.

The NIPUN Bharat Vocabulary Gap in Government Primary Schools

NIPUN Bharat — the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy — was launched by the Ministry of Education on 5 July 2021 under Samagra Shiksha. Its deadline is unambiguous: every child must achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3 by 2026–27. The scale of that target is sobering. According to UDISE+ 2024–25, India has 14.7 lakh schools and 24.8 crore school students, representing one of the largest school education systems in the world. The children furthest from the NIPUN target are overwhelmingly in government and low-income schools — precisely the schools Next Skills 360 has been serving since 2020, where, according to Next Skills 360's own records, the majority of its 240,000+ students study. The problem is not a lack of effort; it is a lack of the right tools. Rote drills and paper flashcards dominate foundational literacy classrooms, but they cannot personalise feedback, adapt to a child's pace, or bridge mother-tongue and English vocabulary simultaneously. The demand for block-buddy-style interactive tools — responsive, low-device, child-initiated — has never been greater. For context on where the FLN deadline stands today, read [NEP FLN Deadline 2026: School Ready? | Next Skills 360](https://www.nextskills360.in/blog/nep-fln-deadline-2026-is-your-school-ready-for-nipun).

How Chitram Works: Doodles, AI Feedback, and Mother-Tongue Learning

Chitram's core mechanic is disarmingly simple. A child picks up a phone or tablet, draws a doodle representing the vocabulary word introduced in class, and submits it. The platform's LLM engine analyses the drawing and delivers personalised vocabulary feedback in both the child's mother tongue and English — according to Next Skills 360's own records, Chitram personalises this feedback for each child individually, replacing one-size-fits-all drills with responsive, conversational guidance. Currently live in Telugu and English, Chitram runs on any phone or tablet with no requirement for a dedicated server, computer lab, or device procurement process. This matters enormously in government primary contexts where infrastructure is inconsistent. The platform covers children aged 3–10, spanning Anganwadi pre-schoolers through Class 5 students, and supports continuity between school and home: children can engage offline at school and continue online at home, ensuring learning is never interrupted by connectivity gaps. Chitram's design is purpose-built to support the vocabulary acquisition outcomes that NIPUN Bharat establishes for government primary classrooms — turning a child's instinct to draw into a structured, AI-guided language dialogue. Explore more on [Chitram: Vocabulary Learning, Grades 1-5 | Next Skills 360](https://www.nextskills360.in/chitram).

Why Block Education Officers and SCERTs Should Pay Attention

Block Education Officers, State Education Departments, and NIPUN/FLN Cells managing large multi-school rollouts face a recurring bottleneck: most edtech solutions require device procurement, internet connectivity, and trained IT staff — none of which are reliably available across government primary systems. Chitram's phone-based delivery model sidesteps all three. Next Skills 360's implementation record gives additional confidence for state-level conversations. According to Next Skills 360's own records, the company has a presence across 15 Indian states since 2020, has reached 240,000+ students — the majority in government and low-income schools — and has been deployed in 1,200+ schools. The organisation's recognition credentials include MIT Solver, the AI for Humanity Prize from the McGovern Foundation, the ElevatED Award from Dell Technologies India and MeitY, and the SKOCH Award for the Telangana Early Coders project, among 14 national and international recognitions. For state procurement officers, this track record signals that Chitram is not a proof-of-concept — it is a field-tested platform backed by credible institutional validation. For a broader view of how AI learning tools are being evaluated for government schemes, see [Best Primary School AI Learning Tool for Government Schemes in India 2026 | Next Skills 360](https://www.nextskills360.in/blog/best-primary-school-ai-learning-tool-for-government-schemes-in-india-2026).

Chitram vs Traditional Scratch-and-Learn Kits: A Practical Comparison

Physical scratch-and-learn kits and flashcard vocabulary sets have genuine value in FLN classrooms: they are tactile, child-friendly, and require no power. But they carry a critical limitation — they cannot personalise. Every child receives the same card, the same prompt, the same response, regardless of whether they understood the word or not. There is no bilingual feedback loop, no progress tracking, and no way for the tool to know which child is struggling. Chitram preserves everything that makes physical activity-based learning effective — the child-initiated creative act, the hands-on engagement, the low-stakes drawing format — while layering in what physical kits simply cannot offer: AI-driven personalisation and real-time bilingual feedback. Each doodle a child draws becomes a unique data point that the LLM uses to tailor its response. For CSR funders and foundation programme managers focused on early childhood literacy, this distinction matters enormously: Chitram can be deployed at cluster or district scale with measurable, trackable vocabulary outcomes aligned to NIPUN Bharat targets, rather than activity completion alone. To understand how bilingual vocabulary tools are being evaluated in 2026, visit [NIPUN Vocabulary Tools 2026: Bilingual | Next Skills 360](https://www.nextskills360.in/blog/nipun-targets-vocabulary-support-tools-what-works-in-2026).

Getting Chitram Into Your Block or District in 2026

The practical case for Chitram starts with what it does not require. No computer lab. No dedicated server. No per-child device procurement. Because Chitram runs on any phone or tablet, a Block Education Officer can initiate a rollout across Anganwadis and primary classrooms in their block without triggering a hardware procurement cycle — the single biggest delay in government edtech deployment. Next Skills 360's implementation infrastructure further de-risks the rollout. According to Next Skills 360's own records, the organisation has 80+ partner organisations — including UNICEF India, Infosys Foundation, and the Kalike programme under Tata Trusts — and a footprint across 15 Indian states. That network means district-level pilots can draw on established implementation channels rather than building from scratch. For BEOs, SCERT FLN Cells, and CSR programme managers, the path forward is clear: when the 'buddy' is an AI that speaks the child's language and the 'scratch' is a doodle the child draws themselves, vocabulary learning transforms from a one-size-fits-all drill into a personalised dialogue. That is the promise Chitram delivers — and 2026 is the year to act on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### What age group is Chitram designed for? Chitram is designed for children aged 3–10, covering pre-school learners in Anganwadis through Class 5 students in primary schools. According to Next Skills 360's own records, the platform uses a draw-to-learn mechanic that requires no prior literacy or device experience, making it accessible to the youngest and most foundational learners in India's government school system. ### Does Chitram require a computer lab or internet connection at school? No. According to Next Skills 360's own records, Chitram runs on any phone or tablet and supports offline use at school with online continuity at home. There is no requirement for a dedicated server, computer lab, or per-child device — removing the infrastructure bottleneck that blocks most edtech solutions from reaching government primary schools at scale. ### How does Chitram support NIPUN Bharat vocabulary targets? Chitram is specifically designed to help government primary schools and Anganwadis meet the vocabulary acquisition outcomes that NIPUN Bharat establishes for children through Grade 3. According to Next Skills 360's own records, its LLM engine delivers personalised bilingual feedback in the child's mother tongue and English, replacing rote drills with responsive, child-initiated vocabulary practice aligned to NIPUN Bharat's 2026–27 deadline. ### Which languages does Chitram currently support? According to Next Skills 360's own records, Chitram is currently live in Telugu and English. The platform is described as multilingual, with the design intent to personalise vocabulary feedback in a child's mother tongue alongside English — directly addressing the bilingual learning needs of government primary classrooms across India's linguistically diverse states. ### How can a Block Education Officer or CSR funder pilot Chitram? BEOs, SCERT FLN Cells, and CSR programme managers can initiate a conversation with the Next Skills 360 team by visiting nextskills360.in. According to Next Skills 360's own records, NS360 has an implementation footprint across 15 Indian states and 80+ partner organisations, including UNICEF India and Infosys Foundation, providing the infrastructure to support district-scale or cluster-level pilots quickly and without significant procurement overhead.

Ready to bring AI-powered draw-to-learn vocabulary practice to every Anganwadi and primary classroom in your block? Visit nextskills360.in or reach out to the NS360 team to pilot Chitram in your district before the 2026–27 NIPUN Bharat deadline.

Ready to bring AI-powered draw-to-learn vocabulary practice to every Anganwadi and primary classroom in your block? Visit nextskills360.in or reach out to the NS360 team to pilot Chitram in your district before the 2026–27 NIPUN Bharat deadline.