Agartala: A joint team comprising the National Council of Education Research and Traning (NCERT) and Tripura police on Friday seized pirated NCERT books that were being sold to students in bookshops in Agartala.
The team, led by Chief Business Manager of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Amitabha Kumar, conducted raids in several bookshops in Agartala for the past two days and seized many counterfeit textbooks.
The Council’s joint team from Delhi and Guwahati regional headquarters conducted the raid with assistance from the Tripura police.
Kumar said that the raids were conducted following complaints from the guardians to the NCERT regarding counterfeit books being sold in Agartala.
“We surveyed the local market and raided the shops identified in complaints received by us,” he said.
He also reported the seizure of counterfeit NCERT books printed on substandard 50 GSM (Grams per Square Metre) paper, noting that genuine NCERT textbooks use 80 GSM paper.
He said NCERT offers a 20 percent profit margin to booksellers but some publishers printing counterfeit books are often found offering up to 40 percent margin to sellers.
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Kumar claimed that genuine NCERT books have watermarks, a feature absent in the seized counterfeit copies, which also failed to meet other specifications.
The official stated that shop owners selling the books lacked proper bills and warned of strict legal action against those involved in selling pirated NCERT textbooks.
