A sweeping nationwide crackdown on textbook piracy has led to the seizure of over 4.7 lakh pirated NCERT books since 2024, highlighting the government’s push to protect affordable, quality education for every student while tackling a thriving black market that exploits families seeking low-cost study materials. Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha that piracy remains driven by commercial greed, undermining NCERT’s mission of providing textbooks on a no-profit, no-loss basis.
Record Raids and Anti-Piracy Measures
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has intensified enforcement efforts, conducting raids at 29 locations connected to the production and sale of counterfeit textbooks in the last year alone. These targeted actions led to the seizure of pirated textbooks, watermarked paper used to produce fake books, and related equipment valued at over ₹20 crore.
To tackle piracy from its roots, NCERT has slashed textbook prices by 20%, improved the quality of printing and paper using modern machinery, and promoted online sales through e-commerce platforms to ensure safe, direct access for students and parents. In a move towards long-term anti-piracy prevention, NCERT, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, has also piloted a technology-based anti-piracy solution on one million copies of a grade 6 textbook, leveraging advanced tracking to curb the illegal distribution of educational materials.
New Curriculum Changes Spark Debate
While cracking down on piracy, NCERT is also rolling out changes in its curriculum. The newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook, Exploring Society: Indian and Beyond, for the ongoing academic session has dropped references to Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore wars from its chapter on India’s colonial era. Instead, the textbook focuses on how one of the world’s richest regions became one of the poorest during colonial exploitation.
Covering the period from the arrival of Vasco da Gama in the late 1400s to the late 1800s, including the 1857 rebellion, the chapter traces the transformation of the British from traders to colonial rulers and discusses the “drain of India’s wealth.” The exclusion of certain figures and events has drawn attention, sparking debates among educators and historians on how history should be presented to students while balancing the need for concise, accessible learning materials.
The crackdown on piracy underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring that quality education remains affordable and accessible to all while upholding the integrity of academic resources. NCERT’s proactive measures and curriculum updates reflect its broader mission to equip students with accurate knowledge while protecting the value of education from illegal profiteering.
