Strategically Speaking: India: World’s Largest Book Exporter?

India's book manufacturing industry traditionally has been focused on meeting internal demand rather than servicing export markets. Export-market expansion has been hampered by a variety of factors—including fragmented operations; trade regulations that encourage importation of books rather than stimulate exports; a transportation infrastructure that puts the industry at a competitive disadvantage to its Chinese neighbor; and little means to market the Indian book manufacturing industry's capabilities to European, North American and other Asian publishers—which collectively represent 90 percent of the world's book manufacturing market.