Juggernaut Nurtures Mobile Ebook Reading in India

India has the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world. Yet, few of its 220 million smartphone users are avid book readers. A startup called Juggernaut is trying to get India to read more with its new ebooks app.

Juggernaut is launching its app with 100 book titles, priced as low as Rs 10 (15 cents) and up to Rs 150 ($2.25). Among these, a set of serialised erotic short stories by popular Canadian-Indian star Sunny Leone has generated the most buzz. The list of authors also includes Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, historian William Dalrymple and American businessman Rajat Gupta.

"The first premise is, if we bring the world of books into the same space as your phone, will you be more likely to read?" Juggernaut co-founder and former Penguin Random House India editor-in-chief, Chiki Sarkar told Mashable. "What if the price and length became much more accessible?"