On August 1, 2026, the National Book Trust, India—better known to generations of readers simply as NBT—completed 70 years. Its purpose, from the beginning, was not merely to publish books but to create a nation of readers.

The country had just become independent barely a decade before. Literacy was expanding, education was becoming accessible to larger sections of society, and there was an urgent need for affordable, good-quality books in the many languages of India.

The answer, in part, was the National Book Trust.

Dr S. Radhakrishnan speaking at the Foundation Day of the National Book Trust, India, August 1, 1957, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Also in pic, then-PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and then- Union Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

A Trust Born with a Simple but Ambitious Idea

The Government of India decided to establish the National Book Trust in 1957. Its foundation day is observed on August 1, and the Trust was inaugurated at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi by Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The idea was closely associated with Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of making knowledge and literature accessible beyond a small, privileged readership.

NBT was created with an unusually broad mandate: to encourage the production of good literature in English, Hindi and other Indian languages; make books available at moderate prices; prepare catalogues; organise book fairs and exhibitions; and, in the memorable language of its mandate, take steps to make people “book minded.”

That phrase—book minded—still captures the spirit of the organisation.

NBT was not conceived as just another government publishing house. It was intended to bridge the distance between the writer and the ordinary reader. It would publish classics and contemporary writing, encourage translations between Indian languages, bring important works from other languages to Indian readers, and popularise modern knowledge.

In other words, its ambition was democratic: good books should not be a luxury.

Seventy Years, Thousands of Books

Over the decades, NBT has built an extraordinarily wide and diverse catalogue. Its publications have ranged from fiction, poetry and biographies to science, social sciences, history, the environment, education and technology. It has published books for children and young readers, for neo-literates, and increasingly in tribal languages and popular dialects as well.

One of its most important contributions has been to India’s multilingual literary ecosystem. India is not one book market. It is many book worlds, linked by dozens of languages. A reader in Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Hindi or Assamese should not have to remain confined to literature originally written only in that language.

Translation, therefore, has been central to the NBT idea.

The Trust’s mandate specifically includes publishing outstanding works of Indian authors and facilitating translation from one Indian language into another, as well as bringing significant foreign works to Indian readers.

This is a contribution that can easily be underestimated. Translation does more than move words from one language to another. It allows a Bengali reader to discover a Tamil writer, a Hindi reader to encounter Malayalam literature, or an English-language reader to enter literary traditions that might otherwise remain invisible.

In a multilingual democracy, translation is cultural bridge-building.

From the Book Exhibition to the World Book Fair

Publishing books, of course, is only half the task. Readers have to find them.

Here too, NBT played a pioneering role. Its first book exhibition was inaugurated in 1964 by Dr Radhakrishnan. Then came one of its best-known and most enduring achievements: the first World Book Fair, organised in 1972.

The New Delhi World Book Fair has since grown into one of India’s major cultural events. The 2026 edition, organised by NBT, brought together publishers, writers and readers on a truly international scale. Government sources reported more than 1,000 publishers representing 35 countries and over 600 events involving more than 1,000 speakers.

Books for Children, and Readers Yet to Be Made

NBT has also paid sustained attention to children. It organised its first Children’s Book Fair in Calcutta in 1983, and its publishing programme today includes a substantial range of books for young readers.

Its current catalogue under the Rashtriya Bal Pustakalaya includes titles in English and many Indian languages, from picture books and stories to books connected with science, nature, history and culture. Recent additions include books by established names as well as new writers, with prices that remain strikingly accessible.

This commitment to affordability may be one of NBT’s most important achievements. At a time when beautifully produced children’s books can cost several hundred rupees, an ₹50, ₹70 or ₹100 book can make the difference between a book being an occasional gift and becoming an everyday part of a child’s life.

And that, surely, was always the larger objective: not simply selling books, but building the habit of reading.

NBT in a Changing India

Seventy years after its birth, the book world has changed beyond recognition.

There are e-books, audiobooks, online stores, independent publishers, self-publishing platforms and social-media book influencers. Yet the original NBT mission has not become irrelevant. If anything, the need to help readers navigate an overwhelming flood of information has become greater.

The Trust has moved into new initiatives as well. It continues to organise book fairs and literary events, support reading promotion, train publishing professionals, participate in international fairs and encourage Indian writing and publishing, young authors’ mentorship initiative and the expanding Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya ecosystem.

Meanwhile, its catalogue continues to grow, ranging from the National Biography series and books on India’s freedom movement and knowledge traditions to contemporary themes, children’s literature and new bilingual publications.

Where Can You Buy NBT Books?

The easiest place to begin is the official NBT website. Its online catalogue allows readers to browse by language, format, subject and series, while the official store enables online purchase of available titles.

Browse and buy directly from NBT: National Book Trust online catalogue and store

For children’s books: NBT’s Rashtriya Bal Pustakalaya catalogue

The official catalogue is worth browsing even if you do not have a particular title in mind. That is perhaps the most NBT-like way of buying a book: wander through the shelves, discover something unexpected and come away with more than you intended.

After all, for 70 years, the National Book Trust has been doing more than publishing books. It has been quietly pursuing a much larger project: making books affordable, accessible and visible in a country of immense linguistic and cultural diversity.

That is no small achievement.

So, as NBT enters its eighth decade, perhaps the best way to mark its 70th birthday is not with a ceremonial message alone.

Buy a book.

And read it.

Because somewhere in the founding vision of the National Book Trust was a wonderfully simple hope: that India would become a little more book minded.

And something that our PM Nehru said at the launch of NBT is still true today: ‘If people who go to cinema, give one-tenth of the money they spend on cinema to books, you would have enormous number of books sold in India.”

–Meena

Pic: Source: National Book Trust, India, NBT at a Glance.