 BOOK PROMOTION

8.1 Analytical Review

8.1.1 The policy regarding book promotion as laid down in para 8.8 of the National Policy on Education, 1986 reads as under:-

"The availability of books at low prices is indispensable for people's education. Effort will be made to secure easy accessibility to books for all segments of the population. Measures will be taken to improve the quality of books, promote the reading habit and encourage creative writing. Authors interest will be protected. Good translations of foreign books into Indian languages will be supported. Special attention will be paid to the production of quality books for children, including text books and work books."

8.1.2 To achieve the objectives laid down in the Policy, 20 Plan and 5 Non-Plan Schemes are being implemented by the Book Promotion Division and National Book Trust - an autonomous organisation under it. Against the Seventh Plan allocation of Rs. 7.7 crores, a sum of Rs. 5.14 crores was actually spent on the schemes. As against 146 titles published in 1986-87, 851 titles were published in 1989-90 by the National Trust, India. The net sale of the Trust increased from Rs. 19.34 lakhs in to Rs. 230.31 lakhs in 1989-90. Besides this rapid expansion of the activities of the Trust, the National Book Development Council has been reconstituted to review the progress of book publishing in the country and to suggest measures for the development of the book industry and trade.

8.1.3 Due to economy instructions the implementation of the following two schemes of this Division has been seriously

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affected during the last two years:-

i) Book Export Promotional Activities; and

ii) Scheme of financial assistance to voluntary organisations.

8.1.4 Due to ban on foreign tours, we have been able to participate in a few book fairs/exhibitions only, and because of ban on holding conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. the operation of the second scheme regarding assistance to voluntary organisations has been under suspension for the last two years.

8.1.5 The total number of titles published in the country, which had come down from 21,957 in 1975-76 to 14,202 in 1983-84 increased during the 7th Plan period and was 17,040 for the year 1989-90, according to the figures supplied by the National Library, Calcutta (although these figures are not generally considered to be complete).

8.2 Situation at the commencement of the 8th Plan

8.2.1 The number of titles published in the country has shown a modest upward trend during the 7th Plan period, but keeping in view the increase in population and readers, i.e. number of school going children, the situation does not appear to be satisfactory. Children's books, books for neo-literates and school drop-outs, for young adults and books on management, vocational education and some technical subjects continue to be problem areas, and there is also a general, feeling of a difficult situation for book publishing, being put accross by the publishing industry.

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8.3 Eighth Plan Strategy

8.3.1 To meet the prevailing situation, apart from continuing almost all the Seventh Plan schemes, the Trust has proposed six new schemes, out of which two are aimed at maximising the benefits from the existing schemes. To faster book-mindedness in the country, a Reader's Club Movement is going to be introduced. To meet the shortage of children's literature, the National Centre for Children's Literature, is being set up by the National Book Trust. The aim of the Trust is to produce 3000 titles every year and to increase their annual sales to Rs. 10 crores.

8.4 Ongoing Schemes

Regional Offices/Book Centres

8.4.1 The sales strategy of the Trust is based on the sale and promotion of NBT books through its Regional Offices.

8.4.2 During the Eighth Plan, these officers are proposed to be strengthened by providing more staff and exhibition vans, etc. The justification for continuing the existing schemes during the Eighth Plan is being elaborated later in this document.

An outlay of Rs. 1.06 crores has been proposed in the Eighth Plan for this scheme.

Nehru Bal Pustakalaya

8.4.3 The Trust's greatest contribution has been in the field of publishing books for children under the Nehru Bal Pustakalaya series. 1296 titles were brought out under this series during the Seventh Plan period. Over 125 original titles have been broght out under this scheme. During the Eighth Plan, the Trust

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will not only step up the publication of original titles under the Nehru Bal Pustakalaya series suitable for the three different age- groups, but also draw on the talent available in languages other than English for the preparation of manuscripts.

8.4.4 An outlay of Rs. 3 crores has been proposed for this scheme in the Eighth Plan.

Aadan-Pradan

8.4.5 This book series is of particular importance because of its unique potential for forging national integration through the exchange of creative literature. Well-known books of one language are made available to people of other linguistic regions through translations under this scheme. 160 titles, including reprints, were brought out under this series during the 7th Plan period.

8.4.6 During the last two years a process of weeding out of dated titles and adding new titles was initiated and as a result translations of a large number of significant books from various Indian languages would now be brought out into other Indian languages.

8.4.7 An outlay of Rs.0.60 crore has been proposed for the Eighth Plan.

Scheme to subsidise University Level Books by Indian Authors

8.4.8 This scheme was launched to improve the availability of reasonably priced text and reference books of acceptable standard by Indian authors for higher and technical education. Subsidy under the scheme is provided for books for which there is a definite need and which relate to subject areas in which books of

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acceptable standard are either not available or are so highly priced as to be beyond the means of the majority of students.

8.4.9 During the 7th Plan period 106 titles were subsidised under the scheme.

8.4.10 To derive greater advantage from the Subsidy Scheme it has been decided to set up Core Committees for various disciplines with the help of the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, the India Council of Agricultural Research etc.

8.4.11 An outlay of Rs. 1.50 crores has been proposed in the Eighth Plan for this scheme.

Core Book Project

8.4.12 The aim of this project is to plan and prepare medical books by Indian authors of such standards that these are accepted as textbooks or reference works by all Indian universities. To achieve this objective, the project encourages and assists the preparation of material for use by Indian medical students and research workers relating primarily to diseases and the health problems of the country.

8.4.13 An outlay of Rs. 0.30 crore has been proposed for this scheme in the Eighth Plan.

8.4.14 Reproduction of Books in Punjabi

Under this scheme the Trust was expected to:

i) take up on a priority basis the publication of Punjabi manuscripts pending with the Trust; and

ii) initiate suitable action to bring out good books in Punjabi.

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While the backlog of the Punjabi manuscripts pending with the Trust was cleared to a great extent, the Trust could not initiate action to bring out any special publications under this scheme because it failed to elicit assurance from the Punjab Government about their purchase.

8.4.15 Under this project, it is proposed to organise besides other activities, writers' workshops, book fairs, granth yatras, etc., provide travel grants to authors, and publish works such as cultural history of Punjab, century-wise, anthologies of Punjabi literature.

8.4.16 The proposed outlay for this Scheme is Rs. 0.25 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Normal Promotional Activities

8.4.17 The activities undertaken by the Trust for promoting books and book mindedness include the organisation of seminars/workshops /surveys and book fairs/festivals. The preparation of a computerised data base for Books in print, a scheme for the identification of quality reading material and publication of Newsletters in various Indian languages are some of the activities which would be added under this scheme during the Eighth Plan period.

8.4.18 The proposed outlay for this Scheme is Rs. 1.10 crores in the Eighth Plan.

Publications for Post-Literacy Education

8.4.19 The responsibility for developing books for neo-literates has primarily been assigned to the State Resource Centres. The general availability of books is, however, not satisfactory and it is forcing the State Governments to purchase

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material which is otherwise not well suited for neo-literates and school dropouts. The National Book Trust is therefore acting as a catalyst to promote the publication of quality books by involving State Resource Centres, voluntary agencies, private publishers, etc. The Trust is also producing relevant reading material in various Indian languages.

8.4.20 Besides developing manuscripts for neo-literates and school drop-outs by organising workshops in different States, the Trust would also commission books on pre-determined themes and adapt books which are considered suitable for the target group. In addition, under an exploratory scheme, the Trust would provide assistance to publishers and voluntary agencies to produce books for neo-literates.

8.4.21 An outlay of Rs. 0. 60 crores has been proposed in the Eighth Plan for this scheme.

School Library Programme

8.4.22 In order to identify suitable books which already exist and encourage the production of good literature for children, the NBT has taken up the School Library Programme. As the scheme is meant to aid in selection and procurement of books under Operation Blackboard, it is to be continued during the Eighth Plan period.

8.4.23 The proposed outlay for this scheme is Rs. 0.30 crores in the Eighth Plan.

New Sales Promotion Measures

8.4.24 For making its publications available throughout the country, the Trust propose to take new and innovative sale

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promotion measures, including launching of a Book Club, providing display racks and similar other material to book sellers, preparing audio-visual material, etc. Payment to Sales Promotion Agents will also be made out of this scheme.

8.4.25 The proposed outlay for this scheme is Rs. 0.30 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Publication of Classic Literature

8.4.26 At the instance of the Department of Education, Government of India, the Trust has taken up a scheme to select, in consultation with the Sahitya Akademi, at least five classics from each language mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and to have a time-bound programme of translating and publishing these into the other Indian languages.

8.4.27 The Trust has already identified titles in Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Punjabi languages for translation and publication in various Indian languages in the Eighth Plan.

8.4.28 The proposed outlay for this Scheme is Rs. 0.15 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Consultancy-Services

8.4.29 The sudden and unprecedented growth in activities of the Trust during the last 3-4 years has made it necessary to conduct a systematic, thorough and comprehensive O & M study of the various processes and systems of different sections of the Trust for achieving greater efficiency in the organisation.

8.4.30 The proposed outlay for this scheme is Rs. 0.01 crore in the Eighth Plan.

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Nehru Bhawan

8.4.31. At present the Trust is working in three rented premises in a residential area. The construction of Nehru Bhawan, NBT's own office building could not be taken up during the 7th Plan period because the Trust was not able to get possession of the piece of land for which payment was made to the NCERT in March, 1983. It is proposed to be undertaken during the Eighth Plan.

8.4.32 The proposed outlay for this Scheme is Rs. 0.75 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Justification for continuing the above Schemes during the Eighth Plan

8.4.33 The principle objective of the schemes mentioned above is to promote literacy, education and foster book-mindedness among the people which would lead to overall development of the Human Resources in the country.

8.4.34 In order to achieve these ends, quality literature is to be produced and made available to general public at reasonable prices. An awareness is to be created of the available literature and need to develop a reading habit. Besides providing for the above, these schemes also enthuse a sense of national integration as the people of different linguistic regions come to know of the culture, thoughts and aspirations of the people of other linguistic regions through translations of the literature representative of that region. Some of these schemes lay emphasis on production of literature for children and the neo-literates and school drop-outs.

8.4.35 The Subsidy Scheme and the Core Book Project provide

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for development and publication of good, reasonably priced books for university level students in various disciplines.

National Book Development Council (NBDC)

8.4.36 The Council which remained defunct for four years has been reconstituted w.e.f 6th November, 1990 for a period of three years. The Council would be undertaking various activities to review the progress of book publishing in the country and will provide a platform for finding solutions to the problems of the publishing industry.

8.4.37 An outlay of Rs. 0.30 crore has been proposed for the Council in the Eighth Plan.

Book Promotional Activities and Financial Assistance to Voluntary Organisations

8.4.38 Under this Scheme, financial assistance is provided to voluntary organisations for organising Workshops, Seminars, Training Programmes and some related matters of Book Promotional Activities. Besides, provision is made for meeting the expenditure on Exchange of delegation of Authors, Publishers etc. under Cultural Exchange Programmes. The scheme is proposed to be continued during the Eighth Plan.

8.4.39 The proposed outlay for this scheme is Rs. 0.20 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Setting up of National Society of Authors

8.4.40 During the Seventh Plan, it was proposed to set up a National Society of Authors to serve as a collective organisation to take care of the interests and needs of the Authors as has been done in all the developed countries and in a few development countries in the world.

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8.4.41 However, subsequently, the Government's attention was drawn to the different possible ways and means of setting up a Society keeping in view the peculiar situation obtained in the country because of its size, population, language spoken, etc. A Working Group which was set up by the Government to identify amendments required to the Indian Copyright Act also has made recommendations regarding setting up of the Society/Societies. The matter is presently under review by the Government.

8.4.42 The proposed outlay for this Scheme is Rs. 0.15 crore in the Eighth Plan.

Book Export Promotional Activities

8.4.43 Under the scheme we have been participating/organising book fairs/exhibitions abroad and conducting market surveys and releasing foreign exchange to Indian Publishers for participation in international book fairs. As a result of these efforts, our exports increased from 1.46 crores in 1972-77 to Rs. 28 crores (estimated) during 1988-89.

8.4.44 In addition to existing activities, it is proposed to organise Mobile exhibitions in Latin American and other African countries and to publish brochures regarding information relating to export of Indian books during the Eighth Plan period.

8.4.45 An outlay of Rs. 0.60 crore has been proposed for this scheme in the Eighth Plan.

Foreign collaboration in Textbooks Programme

8.4.46 To enable Indian student and the academic community to keep pace with the international developments in the various branches of higher education a programme was chalked out to bring out low priced editions of standard foreign text and reference

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books for which comparable Indian books are neither available nor could easily be produced. These programmes are being operated in colloboration with UK, USA and USSR.

8.4.47 An sum of Rs. 0.20 crore has been proposed for this scheme in the Eighth Plan.

BOOK PROMOTION