Temjen Imna Along, Minister of Higher Education and Tribal Affairs, Govt of Nagaland said that the publishing industry will play an important role to move India to a successful nation. “There is a need to create more awareness on the importance of reading books. As the nation moves towards the 21st century, we need to assimilate all of these so that the citizens can derive the benefit of books and the narratives which are set to be at the forefront of nation building,” he added.

Addressing the ‘FICCI PubliCon 2022 and Publishing Awards’, the Minister emphasized that publishing houses have a very important role to play in India’s growth journey. “The New Education Policy (NEP) also highlights the importance of writers and publishing houses. Today, people prefer digital format of reading than a physical book,” he stated.

Emphasizing on the need of setting up library in every district and village of India, Along said, “It is equally important to raise the awareness level towards reading books apart from setting up the library. In today’s time, digitalization is playing a very important role and we need to create a balance between digitalization and physical books,” he added. The Minister also stressed on the need for developing more content by writers and publishing houses especially for the students apart from focusing on other books.

Role of books reiterated…

While, Prof Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman, NBT India, Ministry of Education, Govt of India said that books play an important role for taking any nation and humanity forward. “The invention of printing started the book culture and a culture of reading. Books are the source of enhancing the scope of knowledge to a large extent. We need to increase the awareness of book culture,” he added.

Prof Sharma further stated that there is a need to ensure that we are able to write books in different languages. “Translation is one area which needs to be given more importance in today’s time. The New Education Policy also emphasises on the role of translation. Through translating in different languages, the message can be spread to a larger audience in the society. We must focus on increasing our efforts in this direction,” he emphasized.

Yuvraj Malik, Director, NBT India, Ministry of Education, Govt of India said that publishers should position themselves as the knowledge partners of the society. While, Neeraj Jain, Chair, FICCI Publishing Committee and MD, Scholastic India said that there is immense scope for the printing and publishing industry if the issues related to paper availability as raw material and prices are resolved. “This will also ensure global printing business come to India,” he added. He also asserted on starting library in every village or district of India. Jain also appealed on launching a new campaign ‘Let’s Read’ to encourage more book reading in line with FICCI’s campaign on ‘Roz Ek Nai Kahani.’

Ananth Padmanabhan, Co-Chair, FICCI Publishing Committee and CEO, Harper Collins India said that a book is not just a printed book, but a feeling associated with it. It is imperative for all our publishers to think beyond print and diversify in digital. “There is a clear need to diversify in what we do to publish in various different formats across languages and ensure that we take the advantage of technology to introduce more books in the market,” he added.

Monica Malhotra Kandhari, Co-Chair, FICCI Publishing Committee and MD, MBD Group delivered the vote of thanks.

FICCI Publishing Awards…

FICCI Publishing Awards were also announced during the event. The winners included: Pickle Yolk Books, Kalpavriksh, HarperCollins Pvt Ltd, Pratham Books, Publications Division, Ministry of I&B, Govt of India, Hachette India, Palm Leaf Innovation, (Roli Books Pvt Ltd, Om Book International and Bloomsbury Publishing India.