'Print medium will continue to grow, will co-exist with digital publishing' - FICCI

CEOs from the world of publishing and communication held out the view that while digital publishing is a great opportunity, print will not perish. In fact, the print medium will continue to grow and both will co-exist. This was expressed at the programme CEO Speak Over Chairman's Breakfast 2015, jointly organized by FICCI and the National Book Trust, India.

The Indian publishing market is estimated between Rs 12,000 - 15,000 crore; India ranks 3rd in the world in English language publishing after USA and UK, the market is growing at 20% CAGR and over 100,000 titles are published per year.

The way forward suggested was implementation of the National Book Promotion Policy, which aims at promoting books to all segments of the society even in the remotest corners, creation of National IP Policy, a robust framework for protection of digital assets (DRM), creation/rejuvenation of libraries, grant Industry Status to the publishing sector, establish institutes to impart management & technical courses in publishing studies and leverage technology to reach out to readers in remote areas, while retaining the time tested strengths of publishing and distribution of books.

It was noted that the converged digital domain and Intellectual Property is characterized by passive online consumers becoming active 'prosumers'(producer-consumers) driven by convergence; social media is driving new disruptive business models but it also raises complex questions in the context of IP protection.

It was also contemplated to bring Indian language publishers to mainstream publishing. Speakers expressed their concerns about the absence of even ISBN in book publishers by some small Indian language publishers. The representatives from the Government said that they are working towards creation of a conducive policy framework for the publishing sector to flourish. Over 130 CEOs from the publishing community participated at the programme.

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