NBT, India facilitates digital publishing

With a view to facilitate wider dissemination of digital publishing technology and innovations, National Book Trust, India signed an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a scientific society under Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India, which is the India Host Office of World Wide Web Consortium, (W3C), the main international standards organisation for the World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or W3).

Mooted as a programme under the ‘Digital India’ initiatives of the Government of India, the MoU enables NBT to become a W3C global member for the purpose of participation in the W3C Consortium activities nationally and internationally, more specifically the “Digital Publishing Interest Group” (DPUB IG), web accessibility and other open web platform technologies. The MoU to this effect was exchanged between Dr Rita Chowdhury, director, National Book Trust, India and Dr Mahesh Kulkarni, associate director, HoD GIST & WDG, country manager – W3C India in the presence of Baldeo Bhai Sharma, chairman, National Book Trust, India.

Speaking on the occasion, Baldeo Bhai Sharma, chairman, National Book Trust, India, said, “With this MoU, a new chapter is starting in the activities of NBT and this will enable us to meet the expectations of the publishers in terms of the role of a facilitator that we are supposed to play. NBT will act as a bridge between digital publishing technology innovators and digital publishing end users like publishers.”

Describing it “As an important day for NBT,” Dr Rita Chowdhury, director, NBT, said, “National Book Trust, India will endeavour to add new dimensions to Indian publishing in collaboration with C-DAC/W3C. NBT will organise workshops with publishers of different languages so that a healthy atmosphere of sharing of ideas on these new areas of publishing could be created.”