The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reduced the prices of books for classes 9 to 12 by 20 per cent. The decision was announced by NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani during an event held in the national capital on Monday. The reduction in the prices of books will be effective from the upcoming academic year.
News agency PTI quoted the minister as saying that while the textbooks for classes 9-12 will be available at 20 per cent lower price, the textbooks for grades 1-8 will continue to be retailed at Rs 65 per copy. The books for class 9-12 will be available from 2026-27.
"This year, NCERT has brought in a lot of efficiency in paper procurement and also onboarded printers with the latest printing machines. NCERT has decided to pass on this benefit to the students of the country," the minister said.
The director was speaking during the Bhumi Pujan for the construction of the auditorium at NCERT Headquarters.
In line with the same, NCERT has signed an MoU with Flipkart and Amazon. Through these platforms, the books will now be available even in villages at low rate.
Every year, NCERT prints around 4-5 crore textbooks in around 300 titles. By the next academic year, NCERT has planned to print around 15 core books. The council had earlier decided to print only 5 crore books.
This is the first time that the price of textbooks has been reduced significantly, added the director.
