India’s book market, currently worth ₹261 billion, making it the sixth largest in the world and the second largest of the English language books, is expected to touch ₹739 billion by 2020, a survey predicts.

The challenges



“Nielsen India Book Market Report 2015: Understanding the India Book Market” was conducted in a tie-up with Association of Publishers in India (API) and the Federation of Indian Publishers (FPI) to evaluate the opportunities and challenges facing the industry, as well as to see where it is headed in the future. The study estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3 per cent for the industry in the next five years. However, the Indian book industry receives no direct investment from the government — “a serious roadblock for publishers,” the report says.

Other challenges include the fragmented nature of publishing and bookselling, a tortuous distribution system, long credit cycles that make it difficult to manage cash flows, thus increasing direct costs. Piracy is widespread, with virtually every street in the country home to stalls selling pirated texts.

The report, among other interesting facts, also highlights that India is the second largest English-language print book publisher in the world, home to over 9,000 publishers. More than 70 per cent of them in India have digitised their content to produce e-book versions.