The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), in coordination with the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, has assisted in a crackdown on the illegal printing of pirated NCERT textbooks. Delhi’s Crime Branch received inputs on the same and conducted a raid at a printing facility in Village Jawli, Loni, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).
During the operation, around 32,000 pirated NCERT textbooks of various classes and subjects were seized. The police also recovered two printing machines, aluminium printing plates, paper rolls, and printing ink, indicating large-scale unauthorised printing.
The action was initiated on the basis of inputs developed during an earlier case registered vide FIR No. 336/2025 dated 11.11.2025, by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Copyright Act, 1957.
Officials from NCERT’s Publication Division were present during the raid and seizure proceedings and provided technical assistance for the identification and verification of pirated material. NCERT reiterates that unauthorised printing, distribution, or sale of NCERT textbooks is a punishable offence under law.
Such activities not only violate copyright but also adversely affect students and the education system by circulating substandard and incorrect content. Members of the public are encouraged to purchase NCERT textbooks only from authorised sources and to report any suspected cases of piracy to NCERT or local authorities.
Meanwhile, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on December 17, NCERT is functioning with more than half of its sanctioned posts lying vacant. Of the total sanctioned strength of 2,844 posts across NCERT headquarters, regional institutes, and departments, only 1,219 positions are currently filled, leaving 1,625 posts vacant across Group A, B, and C categories.
This information was shared by the Ministry of Education in response to an unstarred question by Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, which sought details on vacancies, contractual appointments, and permanent recruitment at NCERT over the last five years.
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In the Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), for instance, only 45 out of 116 sanctioned posts across Group A, B and C are filled, while at NERIE, just 26 out of 55 posts are occupied.
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