The first-ever INDIA National Stand at the largest B2B book fair of the World, Frankfurt Book Fair 2023 marked a historic milestone for the Indian publishing industry. The initiative of National Book Trust, India, the nodal body of the Government of India for promoting Indian books abroad, in collaboration with CAPEXIL, helped Indian publishers, printers and allied service providers in generating huge business contracts for India. The INDIA National Stand, covering 300 sq meters, served as a hub for networking and business prospects for Indian publishers. Whereas the theme ‘Bringing Stories from New India’ (u;s Hkkjr dh ubZ dgkfu;ka), at the stand highlighted the living tradition of multilingualism in India while generating a buzz around Indian literature and publishing especially about its innovative storytelling in Children’s Publishing and the works of next-generation young writers groomed under PM’s YUVA mentorship programme.
The emerging trends of Indian Publishing discussed at the Main stage chaired by Prof. Milind Marathe, Chairman, National Book Trust, India witnessed a lot of attention in the Indian publishing segment as a bright spot for investment. Implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 with provision for new textbooks, its combinations as well as the three language formula including foreign language provides immense opportunity for the publishing segment.
Director ofNational Book Trust, India, Shri Yuvraj Malik participated in the global meeting of directors of International Book Fairs where he presented the Indian perspective. Shri Yuvraj Malik actively engaged with the executives and official representatives from the International Book Promotion agencies. Discussions with Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Philippines explored the opportunity of large-scale participation in the upcoming edition of New Delhi World Book Fair as well as many translation and exchange programmes in the coming days.
The announcement of the Financial Assistance Programme by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, for the translation of Indian books into foreign languages further set the tone for continued collaboration and success.
Other noteworthy sessions at the stand included Publishing Dialogues with the Philippines, Slovenia (Guest of Honour Country at the fair), and discussions on Ayurveda, Indian ethos, and the publishing landscape and discussion on Indian Literature by Sahitya Akademy. The stand also witnessed first international launch of Dr. Manjari Prabhu’s latest destination thriller The Rampur Raza Mystery, published by National Book Trust, India. The Collective exhibit of Indian books showcased the range of Indian Publishing through books of Indian publishers including that of Publications Division, Sahitya Academy, IGNCA, National Book Trust India and other Indian publishers.