Pune publisher bags highest contract for children’s books

A Pune-based publisher, Bhartiya Vichar Sadhana (BVS), leads the list of publishing houses from where the BJP-ruled Maharashtra government will purchase children's

A Pune-based publisher, Bhartiya Vichar Sadhana (BVS), leads the list of publishing houses from where the BJP-ruled Maharashtra government will purchase children's books for its school libraries.

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The list of books, accessed by HT, shows that the government has decided to purchase over 16 lakh copies of 50 titles published by BVS, costing around Rs8.18 crore. The contract bagged by the publisher is more than triple in size compared to the contract awarded to the second highest grossing publisher, Saket Prakashan Limited, Pune, which will provide books worth Rs2.6 crore.

The books being purchased from BVS include 1.12 lakh copies of Marathi book Katha Ganpatichya, costing Rs58.22 lakh - the highest for any title. Other books were on Hindu philosophers Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanuja, mythological figures such as Bhagirath, Ram, Krishna and Hanuman, the author of Mahabharata Ved Vyasa, Gautam Buddha, Mrutunjay mantra (chants), warrior king Shivaji, mystic Sarada Devi and a number of saints.

Meanwhile, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the opposition leader in the state legislature, said that the government paid more than double the actual cost of books published by BVS. He claimed that several titles, which are available at Rs20 for a copy, are being purchased at a rate of Rs50. "The government should explain why it so benevolent to BVS," he said, adding that the BVS was a RSS affiliate.

Education minister Vinod Tawde said that the contract was awarded through a transparent bidding process. "It's a tender process. So whoever bid well got it. The publishers' association is satisfied with the process and say that it was transparent," he said.

Earlier, Sunil Magar, director, Balbharati and director in-charge, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) had also justified the purchases. He had said that the books were chosen by an expert committee on their merit.

However, Vikhe-Patil criticised the government for its choice of books. "The earlier list issued by the government had more books on historical figures and saints. But the minister scrapped the list, citing irregularities in the tendering process. A new list was issued on January 12, which is full of religious and mythical books. The government wants to force the culture of a particular ideology on children," he said.