India: a treasure trove of content

India is a huge depository of quality content… with 22 different languages, written in 13 different scripts and with over 720 dialects. Each language has its own set of powerful literature, which is still hidden from the world. But, content is the king and many foreign publishers are now looking at translations from regional languages like Marathi, Malayali, Bengali, etc. Due to language issue, many interesting titles are unknown. Government organisations like National Book Trust, India, are promoting translations from one language to another. More such initiatives are required to promote regional literature.

Indian books on management, science, social science, medicine and technology have also been accepted and are in great demand. Children and school textbooks are already popular in African and other countries. The quality of content and production is up to mark with international standards.

Many book printers in India are exporting printed books globally as their quality standards are accepted worldwide. In fact, global publishers have started looking at India for their printing requirements, even ahead of China.

Many service providers to the industry are already servicing the global publishing industry, which forms a considerable revenue for them. Little wonder then that at the upcoming London Book Fair, Indian publishers are more interested in selling rights of their books. They find huge customer base in African, Middle East, Asian and SAARC countries. A few Indian authors are also eyeing celebrated foreign authors and some buying rights as well.

With such a huge treasure trove of content, Indian publishing industry is in a happy space…the platform may change but the content would remain. Happy publishing!