51 FIRs over fake NCERT books; over 5 lakh copies seized: Education ministry

As many as 51 police cases (FIR) have been filed over the publication and distribution of textbooks copied from the ones published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) over the past three years, Jayant Choudhary, a minister of state for education, told Lok Sabha on Monday. The number of copies seized has grown 890% in just 2025.

Most of the FIRs are against bookshops and stalls. Despite the cases starting to pick up from 2023, the largest seizures of fake NCERT books have happened in 2025 – 1.96 lakh copies from Shahadra, Delhi, and 1.33 lakh from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Although not of this size, there were substantial hauls of 10s of thousands of books from Hapur and Loni in UP and Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

Also read Decoding Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill: Honorary chair, no teacher reps, external accreditation, fines

“Instances have come to the notice of NCERT and law-enforcement agencies that certain private printers and unscrupulous entities have copied NCERT textbooks and circulated pirated or counterfeit versions in the market. Such activities violate the Copyright Act, 1957. NCERT regularly conducts awareness campaigns, issues public advisories, and coordinates with police authorities to curb the circulation of such fake books. During the last three years, several persons involved in the printing and distribution of fake books were apprehended and a significant quantity of textbooks were seized.”

Also read Are NEET, JEE Main based on NCERT books? Why NTA won’t say clearly

NCERT Textbooks: States with the fakes

While NCERT books are low-cost and downloadable, they are copyrighted. Shown below are the number of books seized over the past three years.

Fake NCERT Books Seized: 2023 to 2025