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Press Release

Need to collectively think about how blended learning and internet reading affects larger context of education: Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, GoI

Feb 26, 2023

NEW DELHI, 26 February 2023: Mr Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India today said that Internet connectivity offers us a great opportunity, and with data usage, we are moving from paper-based books to a digital world. Mr Kumar also talked about setting up digital libraries in the country which would ensure easy access to content.  He was addressing the 'CEO Speak (A Forum For Publishing) - Over Chairman's Breakfast', organized jointly by FICCI and the National Book Trust (NBT).

 

Mr Yuvraj Malik, Director, National Book Trust, India, Ministry of Education, Govt of India mentioned that the august gathering is the 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (One Earth, One Family) of the publishing ecosystem across languages. Talking about the policy front in Indian education sector, Mr Malik highlighted that the 'National Education Policy' emphasizes on multilingualism, and it would create more opportunities for publishing industry.

 

France is the Guest of Honour Country for the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023. Highlighting the opportunities for Indo-French cooperation in book trade, Mr Vincent Montagne, Chair, Syndicat National de l'Edition (French Publishers Association) said that translation is the key to the collaboration between the two nations. "We need to build bridges between languages and cultures," he added.

 

Mr Neeraj Jain, Chair, FICCI Publishing Committee, and Managing Director, Scholastic India talked about the Indian publishing sector and highlighted the opportunities that G20 countries could leverage through various collaborative models like rights trading, translation, adaptation and co-publishing. Deliberating on the significance of the content creation opportunities for publishers, he said that we must have the right content in the right language.

 

A panel discussion was conducted on the theme, 'Opportunities in Book Trade among G20 Countries' which was moderated by Mr Ratnesh Jha, Former Chair, FICCI Publishing Committee and CEO - Asia Pacific, Burlington Group of Companies. The other panelists included Ms Emma House, Managing Consultant, Oreham Group, UK; Mr John Cabeca, U.S. Intellectual Property Counselor - South Asia, USPTO; Mr Nicolas Roche, Managing Director, Bureau International De L'edition Francaise (International Bureau of French Publishers); Ms Nitasha Devasar, Managing Director - India & South Asia; Vice President & Commercial Lead India, South Asia & Africa, Taylor & Francis; and Mr Yoshiaki Koga, India Project Director, Kodansha Ltd., Japan. The panel recommended creation of a Working Group on publishing among G20 countries for formal and institutional mechanism for book trade.

While proposing Vote of Thanks, Mr Kumar Vikram, Senior Editor and Project Head (Integrated Project Management Cell), National Book Trust, India, Ministry of Education, Government of India said that FICCI and NBT would jointly create a forum for continuous engagement among various stakeholders of publishing industry of G20 nations to enhance cooperation and trade.