In a significant action against textbook piracy, the Education Ministry has announced that more than 470,000 counterfeit NCERT books have been confiscated throughout India since 2024. This information was disclosed by Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary, in a written response to the Rajya Sabha.

Chaudhary mentioned that incidents of NCERT textbook piracy have surfaced from various regions of India, primarily fueled by the commercial motives of unauthorized entities.

“From 2024 to 2025, approximately 471,000 pirated NCERT books have been seized during operations carried out across several states,” he remarked.

He reaffirmed NCERT’s fundamental mission to provide access to high-quality, affordable educational materials for every student in the nation. “NCERT textbooks are created on a no-profit, no-loss basis to ensure they reach even the most disadvantaged child,” he emphasized.

In the past year, NCERT has conducted raids at 29 locations suspected of being involved in the illegal production and distribution of pirated books. These operations, which also targeted manufacturers of counterfeit NCERT watermarked paper, resulted in the confiscation of stocks and printing machinery valued at over Rs20 crore.

To combat the entrenched piracy network, the council has introduced several measures. These include a 20% reduction in textbook prices, timely printing schedules, improved paper and print quality through modern printing technologies, and increased availability via e-commerce platforms.

NCERT is also investigating technological solutions to combat piracy.

In partnership with IIT Kanpur, a pilot anti-piracy mechanism was trialed on one million copies of a Class 6 textbook. This patented solution aims to track and prevent the distribution of counterfeit books.

Meanwhile, the recently released NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook, titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), has ignited debate over the exclusion of significant historical figures such as Tipu Sultan and Haidar Ali, along with the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in its chapter concerning India’s colonial history.

The textbook discusses the period starting from Vasco da Gama’s arrival in the late 1400s and extending to the 1800s, highlighting events such as the Battle of Plassey and the uprising of 1857. It illustrates the systematic impoverishment of one of the world’s richest regions under British colonial rule. The second section of the textbook is anticipated to be published later this year.