How Indians read?
The first ever youth readership survey by National Book Trust (NBT) and (National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has covered a youth population of 432 villages and 199 towns.
The survey was meant to understand the media consumption, reading habits and preferences of the literate Indian youth.
The survey estimates that India’s youth population (13-35 years) is about 459 million (2009). The literate youth population is 333 million.
Some interesting facts about how Indians read and get information:
1. Newspapers continue to be the prime source for local news and current affairs
2. The Internet is still in rudimentary stage as only 4% of the youth has access to it
3. Book readers (non syllabus) number around 83 million (25% of literate youth), of which 39 million are in urban areas and 44 million in rural India.
4. Hindi and English are preferred languages for non syllabi reading
There is talk about making all youth in the age group of 15-25 years an ‘Active Reader’ by the year 2025. There is a huge opportunity for publishers, even ePublishers in English and vernacular languages to cater to 333 million Indian youth.
