HYDERABAD: In the first such tie-up to make original its textbooks available at the maximum retail price (MRP) on major e-commerce platforms, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has partnered with Amazon.
Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan presided over the signing of the Letter of Engagement (LoE) between NCERT and Amazon Seller Services Private Limited on October 7, 2024.
The Amazon NCERT storefront was launched, where the NCERT textbooks of all grades are available. The NCERT books will be available at MRP across all serviceable pin codes in India, ensuring availability of genuine learning material and resources for students.
To visit the storefront or purchase the NCERT textbooks, click here.
Amazon will also help the NCERT monitor and take down the unauthorised sellers who sell pirated or overpriced books.
Through Amazon’s vast delivery network, students and schools, even those in the most remote areas, can purchase the textbooks at the prescribed prices. This would address the challenges of supply gaps, delayed availability, and regional shortages of textbooks.
Wide network
“The NCERT textbooks will be made available at MRP across nearly 20,000 pin codes nationwide. The NCERT to triple the publication of textbooks and publish 15 crore books this year,” Dharmedra Pradhan said.
Quality education and ease of living are essential for building a strong and developed nation. This collaboration between NCERT and Amazon India is a step towards ensuring that students and educators have access to genuine, affordable resources that will not only help them in their academic journey but also enhance their overall ease of living.
The NCERT has been entrusted with the responsibility of developing 21st-century textbooks, he said and urged the development of e-books that are interactive and AI-driven, featuring innovations like talking books.
Bulk ordering by schools
Amazon will also work with NCERT to simplify bulk ordering for government agencies and schools, making it easier for institutions to procure large volumes of textbooks. To support this, NCERT has appointed designated distribution vendors who will work with sellers on Amazon to ensure timely and efficient deliveries.
By ensuring that genuine NCERT textbooks are available at fair prices, Amazon is playing its part in building a more transparent and reliable educational ecosystem, Amazon India vice-president (categories) Saurabh Srivastava said.
Review and feedback
This tie-up will enable NCERT to leverage customer reviews and feedback to improve the quality of its textbooks. Anonymised sales and usage data will be shared with NCERT to facilitate informed decision-making regarding future print orders, distribution strategies, and selection of new distributors in States and districts where the demand for NCERT textbooks is more.
Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar, DoSEL Joint Secretary Prachi Pandey, NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Amazon director (public policy) Aman Jain were among the dignitaries present at the event.
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