The increase in literacy rate has the books selling and publishing business of Nepal expanding substantially over the last decade or so. There are 8,000 booksellers of different scale in Nepal while the book trade and publishing industry employs over 100,000 people today.

By Pinaki Roy

The 8,000 odd booksellers of Nepal deal in academic, professional, general and reference books along with the usual textbooks meant for schools, colleges and universities. Textbooks of all standards from school to university form the biggest chunk of the business. Quite naturally, all booksellers and publishers in Nepal focus on this segment. “As much as 90 per cent of the business revolves around selling text books for different levels,” says Likhat Prasad Pandey, Secretary General of National Booksellers and Publishers Association of Nepal (NBPAN).

Textbooks’ selling takes place from Baishakh (mid April – mid May) to the middle of Jestha (end of May), also dubbed as the ‘school season’, Pandey informs. He adds that the publishers ready themselves for this season beforehand by completing the printing work of textbooks. “For the rest of the year, we have to largely depend on academic, fiction and non-fiction books which sell round the year, however, their business volume is much smaller compared to the textbooks,” he says.

Nepal’s book publishing industry is growing at a sound rate every year. The dependence on Indian books for schools and colleges has reduced considerably over the years. While government textbooks are published by state-owned Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra, the course books used in private schools are published by private booksellers locally. Publishers claim to also have the capacity of supplying books for the 10+2 level.

There is also a great demand for reference and general books. Competition in the education sector has resulted in better teaching and learning requirements. The fact that reference and general books are additional sources of knowledge has helped the book market to expand. Booksellers attribute the surge in business to increasing literacy rate that has given rise to a growing number of readers and publishers alike.

Bhrikuti Pustak Tatha Masalanda Bhandar at Exhibition Road mostly imports and sells foreign books. “Knowledge must not be confined in boundaries,” Pandey, who owns the enterprise says, “As per UNESCO, there must be free flow of books with no taxes and barriers whatsoever.” He informs that a number of local universities in Nepal prescribe 90 per cent of the books in the curriculum that are foreign-originated. Most books come from the UK, the USA and India. Most British and American publishers have their offices in India. The British and American books prescribed by the schools and colleges are reprinted in India and thus cost less.

Publishing Hub

The decade-long conflict in Nepal compelled booksellers to diversify their trade, as it was difficult for them to sustain solely on tourist and general books. As new universities came into being one after another and better learning opportunities were created in schools and colleges, they quickly diverted their focus to academic books of general interest.

The import of new printing technologies in Nepal has created better prospects for the industry. Madhab Lal Maharjan, Chief Executive Officer of Mandala Book Point, says, “If the government gives the right kind of support, we have already built a groundwork whereby Nepal can become a book publishing hub in the SAARC region after India.” He adds, “The quality of printing in Nepal is as good as anywhere in the world.”

Book Council

A committee formed to draft a policy to regulate quality of books, both local and imported, has suggested that the government form a National Book Council. According to the draft, the council will be the apex body to regulate books and the book publishing business. The committee led by Shiva Kumar Rai, member of National Planning Commission, submitted the draft to the Minister for Education Dina Nath Sharma early this year.

The draft policy focuses on ensuring standard for both local and imported books. The committee also recommended the government to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed on imported books. It is aimed to help stop piracy of books in the market. According to the policy, only the books that meet criteria prescribed in the policy can be selected for curriculum. The draft policy also allows the government to scrap license of publishers if they are found printing vulgar contents and graphics. Strict policy against low grade publications was one of the suggestions given by publishers themselves.

NBPAN too had approached Sharma to persuade the government to come up with a policy and set guidelines to ensure flow of correct information and quality control related to writers, publishers and printers. Pandey says that even pricing must be determined especially for text books in conjunction with all stakeholders – publishers, printers, writers, readers and distributors. It is all the more important because the country is a signatory to UNESCO guidelines therefore the government must implement and stakeholders must adhere to the same.


Major Challenges

None of the successive governments has seriously thought about promoting the publishing industry. The most essential requirement of the printing and publishing industry is paper which is comparatively more expensive in Nepal than in India. Other raw materials such as ink, negatives, plates and so forth cost more too that makes books published in Nepal pricier than those published in India.

Due to a great number of schools, colleges and universities in Nepal setting shop in recent times, the demand for quality and standard books has increased significantly. Nepali booksellers have been importing books mostly from India for long. “The government must provide subsidy on different accounts such as plates, ink and paper etc to minimise costs and facilitate the private sector,” says Pandey.


Education and Book Fairs

The 17th Nepal Education and Book Fair 2013 held earlier this year had 87 stalls and was visited by 100,000 visitors. Global Exposition and Management Services (GEMS) organised the nine-day fair at Bhrikutimandap with a theme ‘Education is the right of every child’ in collaboration with NBPAN. The fair gratified the diverse interests of the readers by showcasing books on various topics like literature, fiction, non-fiction, banking, IT and entertainment among others.

The main objective for organizing the event was to create a common platform for school, college and university students, educational professionals, parents, educational and training institutions from home and abroad, consultants, authors, printers, publishers, booksellers, readers, distributors and the general enthusiastic public. The book fair looked at publishing, selling and exchanging books among the book lovers.

Pandey says that NBPAN plans to take the event to an international level from next year. Meanwhile, it is also going to organise ‘Nepal Rastriya Pustak Mela’ for the first time from 20 Mangsir this year for 10 days at City Hall on Exhibition Road. With this, NBPAN will have two book fairs of its own during the year. Pandey urges that the government must recognise the industry and also participate in its book fairs to the give the industry its due exposure.

The association has been regularly participating in an international book fair in Delhi in February titled ‘Bishwa Pustak Mela’. It also took part in a book festival in Abu Dhabi in April this year for the first time. NBPAN is going to take part in a Hong Kong book festival, also for the first time, from 17-23 July.