Education is the fundamental right to every citizen. With education, employment opportunities are broadened and income levels are increased. The development of an individual and the progress of a nation depend on education. The affiliation between education and poverty is spherical. The lack of education forces the poor household to engage in less productive activities which results in poverty. In a problem free world, every single child irrespective of their race, socio economic profiles and family background, would get good education. However, India is not a perfect world, and the educational attainments of children vary with different socio economic background. Studies suggest that socio economic status is a strong indicator of the educational achievement of an individual.The study tries to find out the change in literacy rates of Raichur between 2001 and 2011. For this purpose the census date was analysed. Another purpose of this study is to understand the socio economic determinants and to find out the impact of poverty on education. The area under study is two taluks of Raichur district of Karnataka namely Sindhanurtaluk and Manvitaluk.