NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has seized more than 5 lakh copies of pirated NCERT textbooks. A record 29 FIRs have been registered against printers, warehouse owners and retailers of these books.
Printing paper and machinery worth over Rs 20 crore were also seized in the last 14 months from UP and Haryana. Among the numerous steps taken to curb piracy was the sale of NCERT books without delivery charges on e-commerce sites.
An official release said that piracy was a cognizable offence under the Copyright Act, 1957. Initially, NCERT, along with the UP Police, conducted a raid on a warehouse in Muzaffarnagar and seized over 1.5 lakh pirated textbooks worth over Rs.2 Crore, it said. They were found loaded into one truck and two cars. A large number of printing plates too were found. Eight accused were arrested on the spot, the release added.
“A printing press in Samalkha (Haryana) was also raided and a large number of printing plates being used for printing pirated NCERT textbooks, copies of the books, and machinery were seized,” it said.
Further investigation is underway to identify the masterminds behind the racket of manufacturing, distributing, and selling pirated NCERT textbooks, it added.
NCERT has initiated the following steps now - significant improvement in quality of paper and printing of NCERT textbooks; their timely printing and availability in adequate numbers and proactive action against printers, distributors and retailers of pirated textbooks.
It has also taken action against a paper mill based in Kashipur, manufacturing illegal NCERT watermarked paper. It has made NCERT textbooks available on major e-commerce platforms without delivery charges, the release said.
The release added that a technology based anti-piracy solution, developed by IIT Kanpur, has been introduced in NCERT textbooks. “This solution has been piloted on 10 lakh copies of one title and shall be scaled up to all titles in the next academic year, replacing the old watermarked paper, which has become redundant and is easily copied by pirates,” the release added.