Education
Government of India Signs MoU for Digital Library Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya
The Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Book Trust (NBT) under the Department of Higher Education to establish an institutional framework for the Digital Library Platform, Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya. The event was attended by Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy; Joint Secretary Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, and other senior officials.
In his address, Shri K. Sanjay Murthy highlighted the importance of non-academic books in shaping the future disciplines of students. He urged the National Book Trust to engage faculty members from academic institutes to contribute quality books to the platform.
Shri Sanjay Kumar emphasized the significance of fostering reading habits among children and youth. He mentioned that Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya will be accessible 24/7, regardless of geographical location, thus making books more accessible. He added that the digital library would solve the ‘last mile’ issue for many states and projected that over 10,000 books in more than 100 languages would be available in the next 2-3 years.
Smt. Awasthi stressed the importance of including non-academic titles in the digital library. She informed that over 1,000 books in 23 languages, including English, have already been added to Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya.
Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya aims to instil a lifelong love of reading among Indian children and youth by offering over 1,000 non-academic books from more than 40 publishers in over 22 languages. The platform will cater to four age groups, as defined by NEP 2020: 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years.
The Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya app will be available on both Android and iOS devices. It will feature books across various genres, including adventure, mystery, humour, literature, fiction, non-fiction, history, biographies, comics, science, and poetry. The initiative aims to foster cultural awareness, patriotism, and empathy among the youth.
This MoU marks a significant step towards bridging the digital divide and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all. The availability of quality non-academic reading materials is expected to propagate healthy reading habits among the youth.
A panel discussion on “Re-discovering Reading Habits in Bharatiya Youth” was also held, featuring experts from the Indian publishing world who shared their insights with an audience comprising Ministry of Education officials, school principals, publishers, scholars, and media members.