India Book Market Report 2026-2030

Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP), in partnership withNielsenIQBookData, announced the release of the India Book Market Report 2026-2030, providing an evidence based detailed report.The report examines the outlook for print, digital and scholarly publishing, together with the role of education, research, Indian-language publishing, economic contribution, Artificial Intelligence and policy frameworks in shaping the sector’s future. It highlights emerging opportunities for growth, innovation and investment while recognising the importance of copyright protection, creator rights and responsible technology adoption. The report concludes that India has the foundations of a globally relevant knowledge industry and should focus on strengthening the quality, reach and sustainability of growth.

Vikrant Mathur, Executive Director, NielsenIQBookData, India & GCC, said: “The India Book Market Report 2026-2030 has been developed to provide a clearer understanding of the scale, structure and evolution of India’s publishing sector. By combining market data with industry expertise, it offers practical insights into the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping the industry. We hope it serves as a valuable resource for businesses, policymakers and other stakeholders as they plan for the future.”

Pranav Gupta, Vice President, Federation of Indian Publishers, said: “Publishing is fundamental to India’s intellectual, educational and cultural progress. As the industry evolves, its future must be guided by reliable data, rigorous research and a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges ahead. The India Book Market Report 2026-2030 helps strengthen that foundation and we hope it encourages more evidence-led discussions and meaningful action across the sector.”

Recommendations for the Report

Sanjay Kumar – Former Secretary of Education, Govt of India
India is the 3rd largest publishing industry in the world after China and USA with the potential to become the largest. The publishing industry is the fountain of knowledge economy and the main driver of human connect and innovation. India also must endeavour to become the printing hub for the world in tune with ‘Make in India’. I am confident that the India Book Market Report 2026-2030 would be widely read and would not only help in formalising the market but also enable evidence-based decision making. My compliments to The Federation of Indian Publishers and NielsenIQBookData. May we embark on reading with comprehension which is the heart of lifelong learning.

Yuvraj Malik – Director, National Book Trust, India
India’s publishing industry stands at an important inflection point. With its vast reader and learner base, extraordinary linguistic diversity and expanding technological capabilities, India has the potential to emerge as a leading global knowledge economy. The India Book Market Report 2026-2030 goes beyond market size to examine the forces shaping this transformation across education, languages, technology, rights, access and policy. It offers valuable insights for industry and government alike. I congratulate the Federation of Indian Publishers and NielsenIQBookData on this important initiative and wish the report every success.

José Borghino – Secretary General, International Publishers Association
The International Publishers Association has been emphasizing for some time the fundamental importance of gathering reliable industry data and statistics that can be revised and updated on a regular basis. The applicable adage is: if it can’t be measured, it can’t be monetized. We were therefore supportive of the last report by the Federation of Indian Publishers published in 2022 and now wholeheartedly welcome the new India Book Market Report 2026-2030. This update not only shows the growth in the Indian publishing market since 2022; it looks to the next phases of development of that market in terms of technology and policy. The India Book Market Report 2026-2030 is indispensable for anyone who wants to know about the print book, educational, digital and journal publishing markets in India, as well as the probable direction of Indian government policy.

Caroline Sutton – CEO, International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM)
India has many of the foundations to become a significantly larger force in global academic publishing: a highly educated, English-speaking population, substantial and growing research output, and deep expertise across the publishing services value chain, increasingly including sophisticated research-integrity solutions. The next opportunity is to capture more of the value created across the full publishing lifecycle. Realising this potential will require an enabling policy environment, including strong copyright protection and flexibility for sustainable business models, alongside concerted efforts across higher education to strengthen research quality and integrity. Together, these foundations could position India as a leading hub for trusted research and innovation in scholarly communication.

Kevin Fitzgerald, CMG – Secretary General, International Authors’ Forum
I warmly commend the authors of the India Book Market Report 2026-2030 for producing such an ambitious and timely assessment of India’s publishing ecosystem. Its expanded scope, embracing print, digital and journal publishing, education, economic contribution, artificial intelligence, copyright and legislation reflects the profound transformation taking place across our sector. Particularly welcome is the recognition that expanding access and protecting the rights and remuneration of creators are complementary objectives. The report provides an important evidence base for policymakers and industry alike and a valuable roadmap towards a diverse, innovative and sustainable publishing ecosystem in India through 2030.

Anita Huss-Ekerhult – CEO and Secretary General, The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations
India’s publishing sector is a striking example of how a market can grow rapidly while still building the institutional foundations that sustain it in the long term. The scale documented here, over 26,000 publishers, a print market growing at nearly 11% CAGR and a sector already generating hundreds of billions of rupees in economic contribution, is remarkable. As the report rightly extends its scope to AI, copyright and legislation, India has a real opportunity to pair that growth with strong rights frameworks, ensuring authors, publishers and rights holders share fairly in the value they create. IFRRO looks forward to supporting that journey.

About The Federation of Indian Publishers
The Federation of Indian Publishers is the representative body of publishers in English, Hindi and other regional languages, with its membership from all over India, representing more than 80 per cent of the publishing industry. All the leading publishers of the country are its direct members; other publishers being represented through various local associations. The Federation is affiliated to the International Publishers Association, Geneva as the only representative body of Indian publishers.
For more information: www.fiponline.org

About NielsenIQBookData
NielsenIQBookData offers a comprehensive range of services to the international book industry, supporting the discovery, purchase, distribution, and sales measurement of books. We proudly manage the ISBN and SAN Agencies for the UK & Ireland, providing publishers with a suite of services, from assigning ISBNs to adding metadata to our database, along with promotional tools to help market your book effectively.

For booksellers and libraries, we offer access to our database of over 54 million book records for title look-up, enriching websites, and managing internal systems. Our research services deliver retail sales analysis for both print and e-books across 19 territories, complemented by insights from our Books and Consumers Survey, as well as Country and Genre-specific reports.

For more information: nielseniq.com/bookdata
To purchase a copy of the report, email: bookindia@nielseniq.com  | fippresident@gmail.com
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