Books are the mirrors of our past that provide us with glimpses of events that have shaped our present world. They are the source to formulate our future by learning from historical successes and mistakes. Our nation’s growth is in the hands of the learned, and books are the informants that keep them growing intellectually. Upanishads, Vedantas, and other venerable pieces of text are our repositories of consciousness. Their contribution to our history and our rationality cannot be omitted by any means.
Like every stream and domain of life, a nation’s economy is largely influenced by the knowledge and information books provide. With the evolution of the publishing industry since British rule, we have observed a simultaneous growth of our economy. Moreover, with the promotion of the education sector, the market for books and literature has vastly increased. The statistical figures say that our book market is dominated by educational scriptures and texts worth over Rs 18,600 crore. Our government is indeed working for the improvement of the educational sector as Neilson forecasts say the market for academic books is seeing good growth with every passing year.
Enhancement of literacy rate and skilled workforce with the emergence of advanced technology keeps elevating the demand for printed texts and books. Though it is assumed that the onset of e-book sales could have affected the sales of printed books; surprisingly, the sales of e-books remain around 2% of the total revenues earned from selling books in the English language. So, the means would remain hybrid and the debate of print Vs. E-books stands no ground as printed texts can never lose their followership.
Our nation is diversified with different communities and populations. Each community has a language of its own, and it influences the publishing industry in a good way. It opens a vast opportunity and heterogeneity for the Indian publishing industry that forms an integral pillar for the flourishment of the nation’s economy. When we see the trends, it shows that Hindi texts are only 2% behind English texts. As per the sales statistics, every existing language in India has a remarkable contribution to the growth of our economy through print media.
Books are our treasure to dig out new ideas and explore new arenas of skills and knowledge. It supports our individualistic development as a whole and aids in the growth of society. Looking at the scope of revenue generation and knowledge transfer through books, our government is spontaneously coming up with initiatives to encourage readership and proliferate publishing output. National Book Trust (NBT) is working on improving children’s literature through the National Centre for Children’s Literature foundation. It also backs the Financial Assistance Program for books and literature. The autonomous body under the Government of India’s Ministry of Education aims at helping budding writers and publishers to publish books at modest prices. NBT is carrying this through schemes focusing on subsidising publishing rates of books.
The E-publishing sector has also gained a prominent place in the book market with the spread of the internet in every corner of the country. It supports the Indian economy by opening paths for employment in the publishing and education sectors. It is a light of hope that has been glowing from its origin. And it gives our economy a chance to be among the best developing economies in the world.
