(a) whether the Government are aware of the exorbitant
prices of school and college books; and
(b) if so, the steps proposed to be taken to make
available books at subsidised rates?
(a) whether the Government are aware of the exorbitant
prices of school and college books; and
(b) if so, the steps proposed to be taken to make
available books at subsidised rates?
THE MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. MURLI MANOHAR JOSHI)
(a) and (b) The production and distribution of school text-
books is the responsibility of the State Government. So far
as the NCERT text-books are concerned, a price ceiling of
Rs. 25/- per book has been fixed for class I to VIII. The
other text-books of the NCERT are also fixed at reasonable
prices.
Under the Scheme of the Subsidised Publication of
Books (popularly known as LCUE - Low Cost University
Edition) being operated by the National Book Trust of India,
only such books are subsidised for which a definite need is
felt and which relate to subject areas, where books of an
acceptable standard are either not available or are so
expensive as to the means of students. Similarly, a Cell
has been created under the Director of all India Institute
of Medical Sciences for publication of medical books for
Indian students.