NCERT and police confiscate more than 5 lakh pirated books worth Rs 20 crores

NCERT, in association with Uttar Pradesh Police, has confiscated over five lakh pirated textbooks, besides huge quantities of printing machinery and raw materials worth Rs 20 crore in the past 14 months.

29 FIRs have been filed till date against some of the owners of warehouses, printers, and sellers who were caught involved in this illegal business of producing and selling counterfeit books.

In the latest raid, NCERT and the Uttar Pradesh Police busted a warehouse in Muzaffarnagar. More than 1.5 lakh pirated books worth about Rs 2 crore were seized, one truck, two cars with illegal books, many printing plates, and other stuff. Eight individuals were arrested during the raid.

Such a raid in Samalkha, Haryana resulted in the confiscation of a huge number of machines, printing plates, and pirated books.

The authorities are continuing with the investigation to identify the masterminds of the racket, which is resulting in heavy revenue loss to the government and NCERT.

CONSEQUENCES FOR STUDENTS AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES

Such spurious textbooks, which are printed on poor quality paper using inferior ink, also pose problems for students who unwittingly buy them.

To counter the increasing problem, NCERT has implemented a number of corrective measures: it has made mandatory a significant improvement in the standard of paper and printing, ensured prompt printing and sufficient availability of textbooks in the market, and imposed stricter checks on manufacturers, printers, and distributors.

Further, a Kashipur-based paper mill making spurious NCERT watermarked paper has been dealt with. NCERT is also taking efforts to ensure that textbooks are sold on e-commerce websites at affordable rates without any delivery cost.

For added security, an anti-piracy solution developed by IIT Kanpur will be launched.

CALL FOR VIGILANCE AND FUTURE SAFEGUARDS

NCERT has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding intellectual property and upholding the academic welfare of students.

It has made parents, schools, and sellers cautious while buying textbooks and report any suspicious transaction to the authorities.