 BOOK PROMOTION AND COPYRIGHT

Books have several major roles to play. There are school or university-level books which are functional tools specifically adapted to serve an educational purpose. Children's books play an educational role at a crucial formative age. There are books for general reading intended for adults and designed to foster the lifelong process of education. In the Indian context, there is need to make books available at prices which the reading public in general and students. in particular can afford. This need was underlined in the National Policy on Education and has been stressed in various welfare measures. The Ministry has been undertaking several programmes for the production of university-level textbooks and reference books, both of foreign and Indian origin, as well as good general reading material at low prices. The more important activities undertaken in this field during the year is given in this chapter.

National Book Trust, New Delhi.-The Trust was set up in 1957 with the objectives of producing good general reading material at moderate prices and of fostering bookmindedness among the people. The Trust brings out in Indian languages as well as in English, worthwhile reading materials for the general reading public, especially those who did not have the advantage of higher education. Designed to meet the general educational and cultural requirements of the people, the Trust publishes such books as may not be attractive to commercial publishers in well-conceived series, viz., 'India-The Land and People', 'National Biography'. Popular Science', 'Outstanding Books of the World', 'The World of Today', 'Folklore of India', and 'Young India Library'. It also brings out a number of books of general nature, outside the above series. In addition, the Trust has been bringing out books under special ad hoc publishing projects such as various centenary programme publications, etc.

During 1976-77, 22 titles were brought out under the various series, bringing the total to 825.

To foster bookmindedness, the Trust organises regional book exhibitions and fairs seminars, symposia, workshops and training courses on problems connected with the writing, translation, publi- cation and distribution of books. It also organises National Book Fairs in cooperation with the book industry. Till the end of 1975-76, the Trust held seven National Book Fairs and more than 70 regional book exhibitions, besides two World Book Fairs, in 1972 and 1976, both at Delhi.

During October-November, 1976, four book exhibitions were organised-all in Andhra Pradesh. Some 3,500 selected books in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu, Hindi and English published recently were on display. Also organised during the year was the Eighth National Book Fair at Ahmedabad on January 15-24, 1977, in collaboration' with the Indian book industry Over 100 publishers from all over the country participated in the Fair, displayed several lakhs of books and offered their books for sale on special discounts. A number of State Governments and some public-sector publishing agencies also participated in the Fair whose special feature was the display of nearly 4,000 selected books published in the country since January 1975 in a separate section, named the 'National Exhibit'. There were also separate sections of children's books and paper-backs. Synchronising with the Fair, the Trust organised (i) a seminar on 'Gujarati Publishing in the Next Decade, (ii) a symposium on 'The book I would like to write', and (iii) a workshop for illustrator of children's books.

In collaboration with the Akhil Bhartiya Hindi Prakashak Sangh, a three-day seminar on 'Hindi Publishing in the Coming Decade' was organised on May 18-20, 1976 at the India International Centre,, New Delhi. About 50 well-known authors and publishers in Hindi participated in it, where papers on some vital problems facing contemporary Hindi publishing in the perspective of the coming decade were presented for discussion.

The Trust has continued to implement other schemes like Aadan- Pradan subsidised publication of university-level books in English by Indian authors, science textbook programme, etc.

(a) Aadan-Pradan.-Initiated in 1969 to foster national inte- gration and to build up a core of common books for the appreciation of Indian culture as a whole and to enable the readers in one linguistic region to understand and appreciate the way of life and creative works of other regions, the scheme is designed to bring out translated versions of up to ten representative and well-known books in each language in every other Indian language mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. During 1976-77, the Trust brought out 40 such books and about 20 more titles were in various stages of production. About 305 titles including translations have so far been brought out under the series.

(b) Scheme of Subsidised Publication of University-Level Books in English by Indian Authors.---To subsidise the production of good university-level books in English by Indian authors at reasonable prices and to encourage Indian authorship, the scheme has been in operation since 1970. It covers original books, published works as well as adaptations of foreign books by Indian authors. During 1976- 77 the publication of 21 titles was subsidised, bringing the total of books so far brought out under the programme to 142.

(c) Science Textbook Programme-Subsidised with the USAID funds, the 'Trust, since, 1971-72, has been implementing this programme of publishing science and technology titles in, English of Indian authorship and translations of American and Indian titles in regional languages. During 1976-77, 200 titles were subsidised, bringing the total number of books brought out under the scheme to 320.

Low-Priced Editions of Standard University-Level Educational Material Originating Abroad.-The Government of India entered into collaboration agreements with the, Governments of the UK, the USA and the USSR in 1960, 1961 and 1965 respectively,.

to make available standard university-level books originating in these countries to Indian students at such a price as would be within their easy reach, thus enabling them to keep themselves aware of developments in the advanced countries. Under the UK scheme (known as the English Language Book Society Series) and the Joint Indo-Soviet Textbook Programme, low-priced editions of selected titles, are reproduced in the UK and the USSR respectively, and marketed in India through normal commercial channels. Under the Joint Indo-American Standard Works Programme, the books are reprinted in India by Indian publishers with a subsidy from the PI, 480 funds and sold at about one-fifth of the US retail price. Since 1970-71 under Indo-Soviet Textbook Programme, a few Indian scholars are being deputed each year to the USSR for 10-month training in translation techniques so as to increase facilities for bringing out translated editions of more Soviet books in English and Indian languages. So far about 25 Indian scholars have been deputed to receive the training.

The books under the three programmes are approved by the Government of India in consultation with expert agencies. The titles are normally evaluated from the point of view of their suitability and usefulness to students. As a general rule, if equally good books of Indian authorship are available, the foreign titles are not recommended for publication. Efforts are made to ensure that only the latest editions of the approved titles are republished. The titles so far brought out under the programmes number 640 British, 1,460 American and 230 Soviet books.

The Indo-Soviet Textbook Board which was set up in 1965 with the Union Education Secretary as chairman and 5 members each from Indian and Soviet sides, to Jay down the broad policy for the implementation of the Programme, held its ninth meeting in Moscow in December, 1976. At this meeting, the Soviet side agreed, inter alia, to consider for publication, under the Joint Indo-Soviet Textbook Programme, books translated by Indian scholars trained in translation techniques,with scholarship provided by the Government of India. The Soviet side also accepted,

in principle, the offer of the Indian side to provide facilities for printing, in India on a commercial basis, of books which they wish to bring out under their programme of publication of their textbooks in Indian regional languages.

Procurement of Translation Rights.-As part of their programmes to produce university-level books in Indian languages, the State Governments have been bringing out translations into Indian languages of suitable foreign books. To facilitate the work of obtaining translation rights from foreign copyright-owners in regard to books selected by the State Governments and to provide coordination, the copyright licences are negotiated Centrally on behalf of the State Governments. During 1976-77, 32 contracts for translation rights were executed, bringing the total to 1395 contracts with the American and British publishers.

Import Policy for Books.-The import policy for books, journals, magazines, children's literature and other educational material is laid down by the Chief Controller of Imports arid Exports in consultation with this Ministry.

The main features of the import policy are that individuals can import scientific and technical books for their own use. up to the value of Rs. 1000 per year without an import licence ; they can also import other books up to the value of Rs. 400 in each case against licences. Libraries and educational institutions can import scientific and technical books up to the value of Rs. 20,000 per year for their own, use without a licence ; for requirements exceeding Rs. 20,000 they can obtain import licences for the import of such books.

The established importers are allowed quota licences for import of books, non-technical journals, news magazines, etc. up to 100 per cent of their basic quota. They are also allowed supplementary licence at 250 per cent of their basic quota for import of 'educational, scientific and technical books. The quota and supplementary licences are made valid for import of scientific and technical journals on request. New-comers to the import

trade of books who had been in the internal trade of books for a minimum period of one full year and had an annual internal purchase turnover of Rs. 1 lakh are allowed import licences for import of educational, scientific and technical books 'up to the value of Rs. 4 lakh, depending upto the number of years that they have been, in the internal trade and their annual internal purchase turnover. The State Trading Corporation which had, for the first time, taken up the import of scientific and technical journals in 1973-74 is assisting universities and other institutions of higher learning in arranging imports of such journals for their use. It not only plans to extend its services to cover a larger number of such institutions but also to undertake the import of low-discount books and such other books that the universities and similar institutions find it difficult to obtain through normal trade channels.

The policy for import of books was liberalised to ensure adequate supplies of educational, scientific and technical books in the face of general rise in prices of books, freight, insurance charges and the "change rate. Such established importers and those holding new-comer licences for import of books as utilise their existing licences in full and in the prescribed manner are allowed additional licences to the extent required for the import of purely educational, scientific and technical books. Import of filmstrips with pre-recorded cassettes of an educational nature is also allowed against quota and supplementary licences for books against specific orders.

Established importers of books who have utilised their available entitlements for imports of microfiches in the prescribed manner, and who are not able to meet the needs, of libraries, and educational and other research institutions are allowed to import microfiches to the extent required by them for supply to such institutions against their supplementary licences for books subject to certain conditions. On specific requests, new-comer licences. are also endorsed for import of microfiches to meet the requirements of libraries and educational and other research institutions to the extent required for supply to such institutions subject to certain conditions.

Teaching aids including microfilms, filmstrips and microfiches are also allowed import up to 10 per cent of the value of quota licence for books. Import of more than 5000 copies of a single book during one licensing period by any established importer of books or holder of a new-comer licence for books is not permitted without specific permission of the Ministry of Education. This step has been taken to encourage indigenous production in cases where foreign books are in large demand. To ensure that imported material does not impede the development of indigenous books, the importers are exhorted not to import books of which Indian reprints are available.

Promotional Activities for Book Export.-India, one of the leading publishing countries in the world, has a growing potential for exporting books not only to established, markets like the UK and the USA but to pew markets in South-East, West Asia and Africa.

During 1976-77, arrangements were made to participate in the International Children's Book Fair, Bologna (Italy) in April 1976, 76th Annual Convention of the American Booksellers' Associations, an exhibition of books held in Chicago on June 6-9, 1976, book exhibition held in Mexico on the occasion of the International Congress on Human Sciences, Asia and Africa, on August 3-8, 1976, festival of books held in Singapore on August 26 to September 5, 1976, International Book Fair held in Frankfurt on September 16-21, 1976 and International Children's Book Exhibition in Ankara on November 8-14. 1976. Special exhibitions of Indian books were arranged in Basra (April 20-26, 1976), London (October 7-15, 1976) and' Jakarta (November, 1976) with the assistance of the Indian Missions there. Books were sent for display in the Children's Books International, Boston, (May 2-30, 1976) Exhibition of Best Designed Books, Leipzig (September 5-26, 1976) and Indian Trade Exhibition in Suva, Fiji (November 1976). Arrangements were also made to participate in the International Book Fair held in Cairo from January 26 to

February 6, 1977, the Indian Engineering Exhibition, Singapore (January 26-31, 1977), Book Expo, in Kuala Lumpur (February 1977) and Indian Trade Exhibition at Kuala Lumpur in March, 1977. Arrangements were also being made to organise book exhibitions in Thailand and Hongkong in February, 1977. Besides, books were sent for presentation to the Government of Liberia (West Africa).

The Ministry continued to obtain market survey reports through the Indian Missions abroad which were circulated among various publishers and book-exporters. The Federation of Publishers and, Booksellers Associations in India was assisted in the publication of a quarterly journal entitled, 'Books from India' for circulation abroad. A revised edition of the brochure 'Indian Books-How to Get Them' was brought out with the assistance of the National Book Trust and mailed to about 500 importers abroad.

Raja Rammohun Roy National Educational Resource Centre.-The Raja Rammohun Roy National Educational Resources Centre was set up in July 1972 to promote writing and production of indigenous university-level books. It aims at serving authors and publishers of university-level books as well as research workers, in the field of book production by way of intensive and extensive reference work and documentation services. It also serves university teachers and students. Its activities during the year are indicated below.

Maintenance of a Reference Library of University Level Books.-The Centre maintains a Textbook Reference Library, primarily for the use of authors and publishers of university-level books. The library has a large selection of books by Indian authors in many disciplines in English and the regional languages of the country, as well as books published under the three collaboration programmes with UK, USA and USSR.

Exhibitions of University-Level Books.-The Centre organises, from time to time, exhibitions at university centres to bring

to the notice of students and teachers the advantages of university- level books published in the country. The number of such exhibitions during the year was 4 at the Universities of Gauhati, Jabalpur, Magadh and Dibrugarh.

Evaluation of University-Level Books.-The Centre also arranges evaluation by subject experts of selected books in different disciplines to assess their suitability for use in various univer- sities, etc. so that they could be increasingly used instead of foreign or imported books. During the year 175 English, Hindi as well as. regional language books were evaluated and 127 books were adjudged suitable for use.

Documentation and Statistical Analysis of Imported Documents.-To identify the areas where India a is still largely dependent on foreign books and to ascertain the types of books and other literature being imported into India, a project for analysing the indents/invoices of imported books was undertaken by the Centre. In the first instance an analysis was undertaken of titles of which 200 or more copies were imported by 10 large importers during 1975-76. The ultimate object of this project is to find out areas, where books are being imported into India in large quantities so that measures could be taken to encourage Indian authorship and publishing in those fields or alternatively possibilities of reprinting those books in India could be explored.

National Catalogue of University-Level Books.-The Centre has been entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the 'National Catalogue of University-Level Books', brought out earlier by the Federation of Publishers and Booksellers Associations in India with financial assistance from this Ministry. The Centre brought out 3 combined issues covering the period from October, 1975 to December, 1976 to keep the catalogue up-to-date.

Annotated Catalogue of Low-Priced Publications and Core Books.- The Centre is bringing out an annotated catalogue of low-priced publications including core books published under the

collaboration programmes with the Governments of UK, USA and USSR. Three annotated issues of this catalogue were brought out in 1976-77.

Guide to Periodical Literature on Book Industries.-To keep authors, publishers, booksellers, etc. well-informed of the latest developments in the book world, the Centre brings out a 'Guide to Periodical Literature on Book Industries'. This Guide indexes articles and news events of interest appearing in selected English newspapers and periodicals published in India and abroad. Third and Fourth issues of this Guide were brought out in 1976-77.

A Bibliography on Book Industry and Trade.-The Centre undertakes, on or in anticipation of demand, compilation of bibliographies on topics of interest to authors and publishers of university-level books. This bibliography is planned to be brought out 'in fascicules at regular intervals and cumulated and printed biennially. In 1976- 77, the Centre brought out the 3rd and 4th fascicules of this bibliography.