Booming book sales in India a sign of the good times
Strong economy, rising literacy and some prize-winning authors are propelling the country’s publishing sector, and one way to ensure a non-fiction best-seller is to include India in the title, say experts
Controversial politicians. Celebrity cricket players. Spiritual gurus. India’s publishing industry, like the country’s broader economic story, has a lot to work with.
So it’s perhaps no surprise India’s GDP growth of 7.1 per cent – the fastest among major economies – is fueling a boom in book sales. Indian publishing successes, in return, can help provide insights into the country’s growth and consumer confidence. It is a land where the travails of a saucy, soon-to-be-married Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker – in Chetan Bhagat’s fictional One Indian Girl – is a runaway best-seller.
Nielsen estimates the sector is now worth US$6.76 billion (HK$52.64 billion). Led by educational books, the sector is set to grow at an average compound annual growth rate of 19.3 per cent until 2020.
India has more than 9,000 publishers to serve its nearly 1.3 billion people, but also imports a lot of books – and incoming shipments have been growing. There’s so much growth to go around that even newspapers are doing well.
“Economically, we’re in a good place,” says Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO of HarperCollins India. “This all means that there will be disposable income. Children have access to schools. Parents have access to good shopping.”