IPA – International Publishers Association
I gained the opportunity to be associated with the International Publishers Association (IPA) through The Federation of Indian Publishers for the 32nd International Publishers Congress hosted in New Delhi in February 2018. I was part of the Organising Committee of IPA congress 2018 as the Chairman of the Sponsorship Committee. I have also bestowed the opportunity to lead and manage all digital promotions of the event with the guidance of the FIP and the IPA.
I have been representing the Federation of Indian Publishers in the General assembly meetings of IPA since 2018. Another milestone in this journey was to become the elected Executive Committee member in 2020 for the tenure beginning in 2021. This relationship has allowed me to represent my years of experience in the publishing domain at events like the International Publishers Congress and the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 42nd SCCR Summit.
The IPA is the world’s largest federation of national, regional, and specialist publishers’ associations. Our membership comprises 86 organizations from 71 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia Asia, Europe, and the America. It represents the interests of the publishing industry in international fora and wherever publishers’ interests are at stake.
The IPA has 125 years long glorious history and I firmly believe that in a world that is plagued by the problems of gender-based prejudice and curbing of the freedom of expression, IPA stands as a testament to equity for all as it promotes copyright and “freedom to publish” proactively while supporting equal opportunities for all and any genders.
FIP – Federation of Indian Publishers
I have been associated with the Federation of Indian Publishers since 2016 as the elected Executive Committee Member for the tenure of 2016-2018, followed by my tenure of elected Joint Secretary for the organization.
This association has provided me to lead the Indian Publishing Industry at various global conferences, events and I have also taken the foot forward to contribute my heart & soul to projects like India Book Market Report 2022 and the curation + launch of the book ‘75 Years of Book Publishing in India’.
I have actively led all their digital projects right from their digital presence through their website, managing their communications from social media platforms, and creating the first and the largest virtual book fair during the most difficult of times – the COVID-19 pandemic.
I also act as the lead for the sponsorship committee to raise funds for all the initiatives of the organization and spokesperson for the media, industry & Government forums.
The Federation of Indian Publishers is the representative body of publishers in English, Hindi, and other regional languages with its membership from all over India, representing more than 80 percent of the publishing industry. All the leading publishers of the country are its direct members, other publishers being represented through various local associations. The Federation is growing stronger and stronger day by day and it has played an important role in making India considered & respected as a significant publishing industry, globally.
IRRO – Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation
I have been associated with the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation since 2016, in the capacity of Executive Committee member of the governing council and then later I was elected as the secretary general of the organization in 2018.
As the Secretary-General I overview the entire operations of the organisation, represent IRRO before various ministries and departments of the Government of India, the Copyright Office of India, and at international bodies like the International Publishers Association (IPA) Geneva, International Federation of Reprographic Rights Organisation (IFRRO) Brussels, and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). I also work collaboratively with numerous publisher’s associations worldwide and reprographic rights organisations in various countries.
Under my leadership with my team at IRRO, we have created the digital presence of IRRO by creating their website, managing their social media presence with the primary objective of advocating respect for copyright, and have been organising both virtual and physical events on the occasions of ‘World Book and Copyright Day’ and awareness seminars in schools, colleges and education institutions inculcating the habit amongst the readers to respect the rights of the rights-holders.
IRRO is a copyright society established in the year 2000 under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957. It represents the rights of authors and publishers of literary works and has global affiliations with international organisations like IFRRO. Registered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India, IRRO is exclusively permitted to commence and carry on the copyright business of “reprographic rights in the field of literary works” in India. It is the sole licensing authority to issue licenses to users of copyrighted works of its members, collect royalties on the behalf of rights owners and distribute them.
The Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO) issues licences on behalf of rightsholders of copyrighted materials for 2 Handbook on Intellectual Property & Reprographic Rights reproduction by photocopying, scanning, etc. of articles and extracts from their works. This includes magazines, books, and journals supplied by a licensed third party. The licences provide a cost-effective way to manage the risk associated with using and reproducing copyright materials.
Mission
To ensure that the copyrights of authors, visual artists and publishers are protected. To build a strong RRO network that supports the economic and moral rights of creators and publishers.
AABC – Afro Asia Book Council
I have been associated with the Afro Asia Book Council since 2008 and was elected as deputy director in 2009 and was further elevated as director in the year 2012. Since then, I have curated number of events for the council in form of book conclaves, seminars and workshops on various issues of the publishing industry and also discuss the growth potential and opportunities in the Afro-Asia region for the home-grown publishers with the mission of making them self-reliant.
The Afro-Asian Book Council was set up in New Delhi in February 1990 as a non-profit NGO with the primary objective of achieving intellectual self-reliance through mutual assistance and cooperation between Africa and Asia in authorship and publishing.
The Book Council is organizing Book exhibitions and Author development workshops at national and international levels, book industry training programs, seminars, consultations and annual conferences on book-related themes in Asia and Africa, facilitating the flow of books and rights with a view to promoting indigenous authorship and publishing.
CAPEXIL
Member of Regional Committee, Northern Region- Panel Representing: Books, Publication & Printing.
My organization Prints Publications (formerly Prints India) has been the initial member of CAPEXIL, a premier Export Promotion Council in India that was set up in 1958 by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India to facilitate the export of chemical-based and allied products. I have been associated with the Capexil Book, Publication & Printing panel representing them in various international book fairs, was appointed as the leader of the Indian delegation in the London Book Fair and played a significant role in organizing the ‘reverse buyer-seller meet’ in Neemrana, Rajasthan, India, February 2020. I closely act as an advisor to the Capexil book panel on various export-related issues and policies.
This mega organization now has close to 4000 members across India who are exporters of 16 broad product genres and represent the best in their fields. Their quality products enjoy the preference of all major markets across the globe. The Vision of CAPEXIL is to catalyze development and promote India’s export of a wide spectrum of chemical-based and allied products and thereby stimulating the country’s economic growth and helping in employment generation.