The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Friday said it has accelerated the printing of Class IX textbooks on a “warfare basis” to address the temporary mismatch between supply and demand following the rollout of the NEP 2020-linked syllabus.In an official statement, NCERT said it has released a fresh set of Class 9 textbooks based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The digital versions of these books were made available for free on its official website about two weeks ago.The council acknowledged that the roll-out of the new curriculum has led to a sharp increase in demand. “These books are being printed and distributed across the country on war footing. Due to the huge number of textbooks required, there is a temporary gap in supply and demand.“NCERT is closely monitoring the situation and is working to bridge the gap. Supply of textbooks is being normalised,” she added. To ensure that students and schools have seamless access to books, NCERT said it is using multiple distribution channels. These include a nationwide vendor network, sales counters in its regional centres, and its headquarters in New Delhi, which keeps counters open even on weekends.Textbooks are also available through online platforms, including NCERT’s official portal, DIKSHA, and ePathshala. In addition, they are listed on selected e-commerce platforms, while free downloadable versions remain accessible online.NCERT added that it is supplying textbooks directly to schools and institutions placing bulk orders, especially during the transition phase to speed up distribution.The council noted that while temporary supply problems are expected during large-scale curriculum reforms, systems are in place to address them quickly. He also confirmed that all the textbooks of class 9 have been published, except the social science book, which is in the final stage of preparation and will be released soon.
