All DPEP districts have been identified for vertical expansion of primary education towards upper primary, covering the entire elementary education stage. The DPEP programme which was initially launched in 1994 in 42 districts of seven States, has now been extended to cover 271 districts of 18 States, namely, Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.
Tous les districts relevant du DPEP ont été retenus pour un développement vertical de l'instruction primaire en direction du primaire supérieur, de façon à couvrir l'ensemble du cycle primaire. Initialement lancé en 1994 dans 42 districts de sept États, le programme DPEP couvre à présent 271 districts de 18 États (Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Bengale occidental, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand et Uttaranchal).