The School Education Department signed an agreement with the National Book Trust to create an institutional framework for a digital library platform, the National e-Library. The platform will provide access to over 1,000 non-academic books in over 22 languages besides English.
According to the official press release, the initiative aims to facilitate the availability of quality books across different geographical regions, languages, genres, and levels. As per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the books will be classified into four age groups for readers aged 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years. The National e-Library will have books available in multiple genres, such as adventure and mystery, humor, literature and fiction, classics, non-fiction and self-help, history, biographies, comics, picture books, science, poetry, etc.
The National e-Library Project will be a big step towards bridging the digital divide and creating an inclusive environment for all. Thus books will be available for reading anytime and anywhere. By signing this MoU, the Department of School Education and the National Book Trust, India will commit to collaborate to improve the educational environment.
The signing of the MoU will mark the beginning of a collaborative effort that will have the potential to transform the availability of quality non-academic reading material across the country to promote better reading habits among the youth of the country. A panel discussion on “Rediscovering Reading Habits among Indian Youth” was also organised where experts from the Indian publishing world shared their insightful views with officials from the Ministry of Education, school principals, publishers, scholars, members of the media and others.