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INDIAN YOUTH
Demographics and Readership
Results from the National Youth Readership Survey
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INDIAN YOUTH
Demographics and Readership
Results from the National Youth Readership Survey

Rajesh Shukla

Published by National Book Trust, India in association with National Council of Applied Economic Research
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This National Youth Readership Survey has been undertaken under the National Action Plan for the Readership Development
among the Youth (NAPRDY) mooted by National Book Trust, India with a vision to make all youth in the 15-25 age group an
Active Reader by 2025. The motto of NAPRDY is ‘Bringing Youth and Books Closer’.

All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-81-237-0000-0
First Edition 2010 (Saka 1932)
© National Book Trust, India and National Council of Applied Economic Research, 2010
Rs. 000.00
Published by the Director, National Book Trust, India, Nehru Bhawan,
5 Institutional Area, Phase II, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110 070
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Contents
Study Team vii
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
About the Author xv
About NCAER-CMCR xv
List of Tables xvii
List of Figures xix
National Action Plan for the Readership Development among the Youth xxiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms xxiv
Executive Summary xxv

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
The Impetus 3
Scope and Objectives of the Study 4
Definition of "Youth" 4
Reading and Reading Habits 5
Importance of the Study 6
Chapter Plan 6

Chapter 2: Demographic Profile of Indian Youth 9

Indian Youth Stock 11
Education Attainment by Literate Youth 11
Socio Economic Profile of Literate Youth Households 14
Demographic Profile of Literate Youth 18
Regional Distribution of Literate Youth 25

Chapter 3: Youths' Exposure to Mass Media 29

Youth Interest in Popular Topics 32
Preferred Leisure Activities 34
Availability of Infrastructure 37
Newspaper & Magazine Subscription in Youth Households 38
Preferred Languages to Read Print Media 40
Usage Pattern of Mass Media in Youth Households 45
Frequency of Youth Exposure to Different Mass Media 47
Time of Exposure to Different Mass Media 49
Place of Exposure to Different Mass Media 50
Average Time Spent on Different Mass Media 52
Level of Confidence in Different Mass Media 56
Why Do the Youth Access Print and Electronic Media 56

Chapter 4: Youth Readers: Their Reading Habits and Attitudes 59

Declining Reading Habits: An Overview of International Studies 62
Assessing Youth Readership in India 63
Reader vs Non-Readers 63
Profile of Literate Youth and Readership 64
Leisure Book Reading — Rural-Urban Gap 68
Preferred Language for Reading Books 68
Number of Leisure Books at Home 71
Frequency of Reading 73
Days Preferred for Reading 74
Time of Reading 75
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Contents
Place of Reading 75
Broad Genre of Books 76
Reading Fiction Books 76
Reading Non-Fiction Books 77
Reading Enjoyment 78
Rating Reading Skill 79
Discussion with Parents about Reading 80
Reasons for Reading 80
Writing in Diary about Books Read 81
Whether Reading Enough 81
Reasons for Not Reading Enough 82
Access to Bookshop 83
Awareness about Library 83
Efforts of Library 85
Member of any Library 85
Usage of Library Facilities 86
Visits to Book Promotion Events 86
Preferred Sources of Information about Books 86
Modes of Procurement of Leisure Books 87
Factors that Influence Book Buying 88

Chapter 5: Luring the Youth into Reading 91

Initiation into Reading 94
Motivation from School 96
Exchanging Books with Friends & Relatives 96
Reading Role Models 97
Peer Influence 97
Youth Perception on Reading Related Issues 98

Chapter 6: General Awareness and Perception of Indian Youth 103

Level of Satisfaction 106
Developmental Programmes- Awareness and Benefits 107
Youth and Politics 110
Literate Youth and Religiousity 111
Good Luck versus Hard Work 112
Youth Interest in Science 112
Benefit of Scientific Advancement to Mankind 113
Youth Interest in Medical Research 114
Literate Youth and Environment 115
Youth and Education 116
Youth and Unemployment 119
Role of Publication House in Promoting Reading Habits 121
Role of Editor in Publishing House 123

Chapter 7: Looking Ahead 125

References 133

Appendix: 137
Appendix I: Glossary 139
Appendix II: Survey Methodology 143
Appendix III: Validation and Reliability of Estimates 149
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Study Team
TEAM LEADER
Dr. Rajesh Shukla, Senior Fellow, NCAER

CORE TEAM
Mr. Palash Baruah Dr. Joydeep Goswami Dr. Rupinder Kaur Mr. Bijay Chouhan
Ms. Preeti Kakkar Mr. Lokesh Dwivedi Mr. Harsha T. Dutt Dev Ms. Pallavi Kalita

TECHNICAL AND ANALYTICAL TEAM

Mr. Palash Baruah Dr. Joydeep Goswami Mr. Bijay Chouhan Ms. Preeti Kakkar

FIELD SUPPORT TEAM

Mr. K.A. Siddiqui Mr. P.K. Ghosh Mr. O.P. Sharma Ms. Rachna Sharma
Mr. Kosar Jamal Khan Mr. Rakesh Srivasatava Dr. Sandeep Mishra Mr. Amit Sharma
Mr. Harsha T. Dutt Dev Ms. Poonam Dhawan

NCAER's SENIOR CONSULTANTS

Dr. V.T. Prabhakaran Dr. A.K. Srivastava Mr. P.K. Roy

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Mr. Suman Bery, Director General, NCAER
Prof. Bipan Chandra, Chairman, NBT, India
Prof. Palle Rama Rao, ISRO-Dr. Brahm Distinguished Professor, ARCI, Hyderabad
Dr. N.S. Sastry, Former Director-General, NSSO & CSO
Ms. Nuzhat Hassan, Director, NBT, India
Mr. Ramdas Bhatkal, Chairman & Managing Director, Popular Prakashan, Mumbai
Prof. J.B.G. Tilak, Professor, NUEPA, New Delhi
Mr. Gauhar Raza, Sr. Scientist, NISTADS, New Delhi
Ms. Ratna M. Sudarshan, Director, ISST, New Delhi
Dr. Navsharan Singh, Sr. Program Officer, IDRC, New Delhi
Dr. P.S. Pandey, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi
Dr. Anil Rai, Principal Scientist, IASRI, New Delhi
Representatives, NCERT, New Delhi

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Mr. Gauhar Raza, Sr. Scientist, NISTADS, New Delhi
Dr. V.T. Prabhakaran, Sr. Consultant, NCAER
Dr. P.S. Pandey, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi
Dr. Anil Rai, Principal Scientist, IASRI, New Delhi

NBT'S CORE TEAM

Ms. Nuzhat Hassan, Director
Mr. Satish Kumar, Joint Director (Production)
Dr. Baldev Singh 'Baddan', Chief Editor & Joint Director
Mr. Kumar Vikram, Assistant Editor

PROJECT-INCHARGE, NAPRDY (NBT)

Mr. Kumar Vikram, Assistant Editor

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Foreword
NATIONAL BOOK TRUST, India was established in 1957 by our first Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal
Nehru as part of the mammoth nation building exercise that was taken up immediately after the
independence in the social, political, economic and cultural fields. The idea was to create a public
funded institution that could create good books, make them available to the general readers at the
affordable prices and which would keep finding ways to understand and meet the reading needs of the
masses at large.

I think that of all the institutions that were founded to work in the cultural fields, the founding of an
institution like National Book Trust, India for creating learning and book reading society was the most
visionary one. It is so because, while most of the institutions had a clear cut target area like working for
the theatres, arts, literature etc., NBT, India was asked to work for the reading needs of the general
masses. With hardly one third of the population literate at the time of India's independence, to be able to
visualize a society that needed to be nourished on progressive and secular books to understand and
sustain the basic foundations of the independent India was masterstroke. The Trust has played a vital
role in providing quality books to all target audience including children.

In the light of the growing importance of the youth in the affairs of the country, the Trust took an
initiative to frame a National Action Plan for the Readership Development among the Youth (NAPRDY)
and entrusted the job of undertaking the first ever National Youth Readership Survey from the
perspective of book reading habit to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER),
probably one of the best in the world to conduct such surveys and analyses. I believe that the findings of
the survey will open up new windows to the understanding of the way the most energetic component of
our population thinks and behaves when it comes to books and reading culture.

Prof. Bipan Chandra

February, 4, 2010 Chairman
New Delhi National Book Trust, India

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Preface
IT IS RIGHTLY SAID that while children are the future of the country, youth are its present. The energy, enthusiasm, dynamism, innovative
ideas and creative thinking they possess make the youth population an important asset for any country's accelerated development. With
regard to youth resources, India has a distinct edge over the developed nations most of which will be facing the burden of a fast ageing
population in the coming decades.

Numbers alone are just part of the story. In order to reap the benefits of the "demographic dividend" it is necessary that these young
men and women are imparted the right kind of education, motivation and exposure and provided with opportunities for the development of
their personality and functional capability so as to make them economically and socially useful. A country's economic progress depends on
its people, especially the young, having access to the world of knowledge conveyed by the printed media. Removing the barrier of illiteracy,
developing a reading culture and creating adequate opportunities for reading are the cornerstones of intellectual, emotional and civilized
life. It is rightly said that 'the right to read' also means "the right to develop one's intellectual and spiritual capacities, the right to learn and
make progress".

It was in this light that the National Book Trust (NBT), India, the premier government agency engaged in the task of creating a learning
society, chalked out a National Action Plan for Readership Development among the Youth (NAPRDY) and approached the National Council
of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to conduct the National Youth Readership Survey-2009 which is the first of its kind conducted in
any developing country. The main objective of the survey and the related analyses is to take stock of the readership, reading habits and
attitudes among rural and urban youth in India and to explore ways of culturing and nurturing reading habits among the youth.

The development of life-long reading interests and reading habits is a process which begins at home, is nurtured continuously in the
school and is sustained in later life through the conscious efforts of the public education system and of public libraries. In order to cultivate
a life-long reading habit, we must go beyond the needs and interests of the different developmental phases and motivate the child to fit his
reading material to his changing intellectual needs and environmental circumstances. In other words, reading should become a habit
guided by permanent motives rather than changing inclinations.

Relatively little is known about the development of reading interests among the youth, its causes and primary influences. The report
addresses this issue in depth. What is the role of parents and teachers in the promotion of reading readiness and awakening interest in
reading books? How far do the school environment and access to good libraries and bookshops help to arouse interest and pleasure in
reading so as to make it a habit? What influence do peers have in the formation of reading habit? What are the activities that promote
reading interest among the children? To what extent do factors such as education level of self, parents' occupation and education level and
socio-economic characteristics of the household influence reading and reading interests? These are some of the specific questions
answered in the present investigation.

The National Youth Readership Survey-2009 also attempted to gain insight into the media preferences of youth, level of trust in different
media, personal satisfaction levels, reasons for dropping out of education, preferred leisure activities, most preferred genre of books for
leisure reading, awareness about various government programmes, their perception/opinion about various critical issues such as
reservations for women in Parliament, interest in science, religiosity, and so on.

NCAER is proud to be associated with NBT's initiative to gain insight into the readership status, reading habits and attitudes of the youth
in India which will help evolve effective mechanisms to inculcate the habit of reading in the young at an early age. The outcome of the study
will be an important input for various stakeholders such as publishing houses, educationists, academicians, and policy makers and other
concerned with promotion of reading habits.

NBT truly deserves to be applauded for their vision in this initiative. Let me thank them for entrusting this pioneering task to the NCAER.
I also congratulate the team of staff and consultants, led by Dr. Rajesh Shukla, and acknowledged elsewhere in this report, for their efforts
in assisting NBT in making its vision a reality.

Suman Bery
February, 4, 2010 Director-General,
New Delhi National Council of Applied Economic Research

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Acknowledgements
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCH (NCAER) extends its deep appreciation to the National Book Trust (NBT),
particularly its Chairman, Prof. Bipan Chandra, and Director, Ms. Nuzhat Hassan, for their laudable initiative in youth readership
development and entrusting the NCAER with the responsibilities of conducting the National Youth Readership Survey.

We are extremely grateful and indebted to Prof. P. Rama Rao and Prof. N.S.Sastry who ably chaired the Advisory Committee meetings
and extended valuable guidance throughout. We are also grateful to the members of the advisory committee, especially Prof. J.B.G.Tilak,
Mr. Gauhar Raza, Ms. Ratna Sudarshan, Dr. Navsharan Singh, Dr. P.S. Pandey, Dr. Anil Rai, Mr. Ramdas Bhatkal, Prof. Krishna Kumar,
Dr. A.K. Choubey and Mr. Asoke Ghosh for their keen interest and inputs in the process of preparation of the Project Report.

We are highly indebted to Swami Agnivesh, Prof. (late) Amrik Singh, Dr. Kancha Ilaiah, Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Ms. Ritu Menon, Ms. Urvashi
Butalia, Shri Mangalesh Dabral, Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Khan, Shri R.C. Govil, Shri Sridhar Balan and several others who inspired us by their
active participation in the project launching seminar and provided us with valuable inputs which helped us considerably in ensuring the
quality of the survey instrument.

Many researchers and policy makers have helped the NCAER study team in its efforts to bring out the Indian Youth: Demographics and
Readership-Results from National Youth Readership Survey in its present shape and content. We are grateful to each one of them. On the
suggestion of the Advisory Committee, NCAER had constituted a Technical Committee comprising Mr. Gauhar Raza,
Dr. V.T. Prabhakaran, Dr. Anil Rai and Dr. P.S. Pandey for providing technical inputs all through - conceptualisation, designing of survey
instruments, analysis and report preparation. We would like to extend our special appreciation to these members for their distinctive role.

The NCAER research team deserves credit for pouring over reams of data and statistics and coming out with incisive analyses.
Mr. Palash Baruah and Mr. Bijay Chouhan deserve special appreciation for putting sincere efforts and hard work in sample selection,
weight calculation, data consistency check, tabulation and data analysis work. Credit is also due to the NCAER field staff and the support of
ACNielsen who worked overtime to collect data from all over the country. NCAER's support staff gave invaluable help without which the
report would not have seen the light of day.

We would like to place on record our special thanks to Mr. Kumar Vikram, Project In-charge, NBT's NAPRDY for actively providing the
necessary inputs, for sensitising us about many issues affecting the publishing world and the reading-culture scene and for providing
inputs for the chapter, Looking Ahead.We also acknowledge the support and guidance of other senior officers of the Trust,
Shri Satish Kumar, Joint Director (Production), Dr. Baldev Singh 'Baddan', Chief Editor & Joint Director and Shri Amar Mudi, the former
Joint Director (Administration and Finance) during the course of the study.

Last but not the least, we place on record our sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Hasan Jawaid Khan and Mr. Udayan Namboodiri
who edited the report.

Rajesh Shukla
February, 4, 2010 Project Leader and Author of the Report
New Delhi National Council of Applied Economic Research

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About the Author

RAJESH SHUKLA is the Director of NCAER Centre for Macro Consumer Research (NCAER-CMCR) at National Council of Applied Economic
Research (NCAER, www.ncaer.org). He is a Statistician, who has specialized in sample survey and data analysis. He has been involved for over
15 years in primary and secondary data based socio-economic studies (baseline, impact evaluation and longitudinal) and has executed over 25
national level studies covering a range of topics such as household income, expenditure and saving; tourism, science and technology, public
understanding of science, youth as human resource and energy.

He has worked as technical advisor to several reputed national and international institutions such as United Nations Committee on Tourism
Statistics, WTO, Spain; McKinsey Global Institute, Washington; Government of Sultanate of Oman; Asian Development Bank, Manila; Yale
Centre for Consumer Insight, and so on. He has been engaged in compiling, integrating and analysing GESIS longitudinal datasets of European
Countries. He is part of the collaborative research on 'Construction of Global Indicators of Science and Technology' at the London School of
Economics since 2002.

He has authored seven books, more than 25 research reports, a number of research papers and popular articles. Some of his distinctive
publications include first India Science Report (NCAER, 2004-05), Domestic Tourism Survey (Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of
India, 2002-03), The Great Indian Middle Class (NCAER and Business Standard, 2004), The Great Indian Market (NCAER and Business
Standard, 2004), The Next Urban Frontier: Twenty Cities to Watch (NCAER and FCH, 2008), How India Earns, Spends and Saves: Unmasking
the Real India (Sage, 2010) and Caste in Different Mould (Business Standard, 2010) .

About NCAER-CMCR
THE NCAER CENTRE for Macro Consumer Research (NCAER-CMCR) at National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) aims to
build and disseminate seminal knowledge on the Indian consumer economy as an aid to business strategy and public policy development. The
Centre would leverage and build on the excellent and widely acclaimed work already being done in this arena for last two decades by NCAER".
Some of the landmark publications include The Great Indian Middle Class (NCAER and Business Standard, 2004), The Great Indian Market
(NCAER and Business Standard, 2004) and The Next Urban Frontier: Twenty Cities to Watch (NCAER and FCH, 2008), and How India Earns,
Spends and Saves: Unmasking the Real India (Sage, 2010).

The Centre would receive guidance from its Supervisory Board chaired by Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, author of "We are like that
only — Understanding the Logic of Consumer India" as its first non-executive chairperson. The first nucleus members of the Centre includes
ICICI, Hindustan Unilever, McKinsey and Company, Nokia, Maruti and MasterCard Worldwide, all of whom are companies well known for their
understanding of the Indian consumer and consumer markets, as well as for their contributions to knowledge and to capacity building.

Our goal is to make the Centre an important and vibrant resource for scholars, academicians, market analysts and corporations from
round the world.

Visit www.ncaer-cmcr.org

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List of Tables
Table 2.1: Average number of years taken to attain highest level of education 12
Table 2.2: Average age (in years) of literate youth to attain highest level of education 12
Table 2.3: Medium of instruction (language) and level of education 13
Table 2.4: Distribution of literate youth by social group 14
Table 2.5: Distribution of literate youth by religion 15
Table 2.6: Distribution of literate youth by family type 15
Table 2.7: Distribution of literate youth by major source of household income 16
Table 2.8: Distribution of literate youth by level of education of parents 17
Table 2.9: Distribution of literate youth by activity status of parents 18
Table 2.10: Distribution of literate youth by gender 18
Table 2.11: Distribution of literate youth by age 18
Table 2.12: Distribution of literate youth by level of education 19
Table 2.13: Distribution of literate youth by activity status 23
Table 2.14: Distribution of literate youth by region 26
Table 3.1: Preferred language to read newspaper by location 41
Table 3.2: Preferred language to read newspaper by region 41
Table 3.3: Preferred language to read newspaper by age 42
Table 3.4: Preferred language to read newspaper by gender 42
Table 3.5: Preferred language to read newspaper by level of education 43
Table 3.6: Preferred language to read newspaper by activity status of youth 43
Table 3.7: Preferred language to read magazines by location 44
Table 3.8: Preferred language to read magazines by region 44
Table 3.9: Preferred language to read magazines by age 45
Table 3.10: Preferred language to read magazines by gender 45
Table 3.11: Preferred language to read magazines by level of education 46
Table 3.12: Preferred language to read magazines by activity status of youth 47
Table 3.13: Frequency of exposure to mass media 48
Table 3.14: Time of exposure to mass media 49
Table 3.15: Place of exposure to mass media 50
Table 3.16: Time spent on mass media 52
Table 3.17: Level of confidence in different mass media 54
Table 3.18: Preference of information 54
Table 4.1: Estimates of Indian youth readers by location 63
Table 4.2: Estimates of Indian youth readers by region 64
Table 4.3: Estimates of Indian youth readers by social group 64
Table 4.4: Estimates of Indian youth readers by religion 64
Table 4.5: Estimates of Indian youth readers by type of family 65
Table 4.6: Estimates of Indian youth readers by level of parents' education 65
Table 4.7: Estimates of Indian youth readers by parent's activity 66
Table 4.8: Estimates of Indian youth readers by gender 66
Table 4.9: Estimates of Indian youth readers by age group 67
Table 4.10: Estimates of Indian youth readers by level of education 67
Table 4.11: Estimates of Indian youth readers by activity status 67
Table 4.12: Preferred languages for reading leisure books 69
Table 4.13: Correspondence between youth readers' first preferred language for leisure reading and their mother tongue 70
Table 4.14: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by location 70
Table 4.15: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by region 71
Table 4.16: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by age 71
Table 4.17: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by gender 72
Table 4.18: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by level of education 72
Table 4.19: First preferred languages for reading leisure books by activity status 73

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List of Tables
Table 4.20: Pattern of ownership of leisure books by youth 73
Table 4.21: Place of reading books 75
Table 4.22: Demographic profile of youth readers and preferred places to read 76
Table 4.23: Reasons for reading books 80
Table 4.24: Estimates of literate youth by degree of reading 81
Table 4.25: Distribution of youth among reader-categories by socio-economic profile 82
Table 4.26: Three most important reasons for not reading enough 83
Table 4.27: The most important reasons for not reading enough by location & categories of readers 84
Table 4.28: Usage pattern of library services by youth members 86
Table 4.29: Visit to book promotion events by location 86
Table 4.30: Visit to book promotion events by readership status 87
Table 4.31: Three major sources of information about books 87
Table 4.32: Major source of information about books by location 88
Table 4.33: Three major modes of procurement of books 88
Table 4.34: Major modes of procurement of books by location 89
Table 4.35: Three major factors kept in mind while buying books 89
Table 4.36: Most important factor kept in mind while buying books by location 89
Table 5.1: How did youth start reading leisure books? 95
Table 5.2: Motivation for reading in the school 95
Table 5.3: Exchange of leisure books with friends and relatives 95
Table 5.4: Sources of receiving books as a gift 96
Table 5.5: Reading habits of parents by readership of youth 97
Table 5.6: Reading habits of parents by location 98
Table 5.7: Three most important reasons for declining reading habits 101
Table 5.8: Three most important factors to improve reading habits 101
Table 6.1: Awareness among literate youth 108
Table 6.2: Source of information about various programmes 108
Table 6.3: Benefits among literate youth 110
Table 6.4: Respondents' views on global warming, biodiversity and environmental pollution 116
Table 6.5: Share of literate youth agreed on issues (%) by demographic profile 116
Table 6.6: Aspiring for higher level of education 117
Table 6.7: Distribution of aspiring youth by highest level of education 117
Table 6.8: Reasons for not pursuing education 118
Table 6.9: Reasons for dissatisfaction by location 121
Table 6.10: Reasons for job dissatisfaction by gender 121
Table 6.11: Youth and unemployment 121
Table 6.12: Reasons for unemployment 122

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List of Figures
Fig. 2.1: Estimates of Indian youth population 11
Fig. 2.2: Level of education attained and location 13
Fig. 2.3: Level of education attained and type of institution 13
Fig. 2.4: Distribution of literate youth by location and social groups 14
Fig. 2.5: Distribution of literate youth by location and religion 15
Fig. 2.6: Distribution of literate youth by location and family type 15
Fig. 2.7: Distribution of literate youth by size of household 16
Fig. 2.8: Distribution of literate youth by number of literate youth per household 16
Fig. 2.9: Distribution of literate youth by location and major source of household income 16
Fig. 2.10: Distribution of literate youth by location and parental education 17
Fig. 2.11: Distribution of literate youth by location and activity status of parents 18
Fig. 2.12: Distribution of literate youth by location and gender 19
Fig. 2.13: Distribution of literate youth by location and age groups 19
Fig. 2.14: Distribution of literate youth by location and level of education 20
Fig. 2.15: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and location 20
Fig. 2.16: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and social groups 20
Fig. 2.17: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and religion 20
Fig. 2.18: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and major source of household income 21
Fig. 2.19: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and gender 21
Fig. 2.20: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and age group 21
Fig. 2.21: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and activity status 21
Fig. 2.22: Distribution of literate youth by level of education of youth and education level of parents 22
Fig. 2.23: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and activity status of parents 22
Fig. 2.24: Distribution of literate youth by location and activity status 22
Fig. 2.25: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and social groups 23
Fig. 2.26: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and religion 23
Fig. 2.27: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and major source of household income 23
Fig. 2.28: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and gender 24
Fig. 2.29: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and age group 24
Fig. 2.30: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and level of education 24
Fig. 2.31: Distribution of literate youth by own activity status and education level of parents 25
Fig. 2.32: Distribution of literate youth by own activity status and activity status of parents 25
Fig. 2.33: Distribution of literate youth by location and region 25
Fig. 2.34: Distribution of literate youth by social group and region 25
Fig. 2.35: Distribution of literate youth by religion and region 26
Fig. 2.36: Distribution of literate youth by major source of household income and region 26
Fig. 2.37: Distribution of literate youth by level of education and region 27
Fig. 2.38: Distribution of literate youth by activity status and region 27
Fig. 3.1: Youth interest in selected issues/topics 32
Fig. 3.2: Youth interest in selected issues/topics by location 32
Fig. 3.3: Youth interest in selected issues/topics by gender 33
Fig. 3.4: Youth interest in selected issues/topics by age group 33
Fig. 3.5: Youth interest in selected issues/topics by level of education 33
Fig. 3.6: Youth interest in selected issues/topics by activity status 34
Fig. 3.7: Preferred leisure activities 34
Fig. 3.8: Preferred leisure activities by location 35
Fig. 3.9: Preferred leisure activities by gender 35
Fig. 3.10: Preferred leisure activities by age group 35
Fig. 3.11: Preferred leisure activities by level of education 36
Fig. 3.12: Preferred leisure activities by activity status 36
Fig. 3.13: Pattern of ownership by location 37

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List of Figures
Fig. 3.14: Pattern of ownership by education level of youth 37
Fig. 3.15: Pattern of ownership by activity status of youth 37
Fig. 3.16: Access of infrastructure at home by location 38
Fig. 3.17: Access of infrastructure at home by education level of youth 38
Fig. 3.18: Access of infrastructure at home by activity status of youth 38
Fig. 3.19: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by location 39
Fig. 3.20: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by social group 39
Fig. 3.21: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by religion 39
Fig. 3.22: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by family type 39
Fig. 3.23: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by major sources of household income 40
Fig. 3.24: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by gender of youth 40
Fig. 3.25: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by age group 40
Fig. 3.26: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by level of education of youth 41
Fig. 3.27: Subscription of newspaper and magazines by activity status of youth 41
Fig. 3.28: Usage pattern of mass media 45
Fig. 3.29: Usage pattern of mass media by location 46
Fig. 3.30: Usage pattern of mass media by gender 46
Fig. 3.31: Usage pattern of mass media by age group 46
Fig. 3.32: Usage pattern of mass media by level of education of youth 47
Fig. 3.33: Usage pattern of mass media by activity status of youth 48
Fig. 3.34: Frequency of exposure to mass media by location 48
Fig. 3.35: Time of exposure to mass media by location 49
Fig. 3.36: Place of exposure to mass media by location 51
Fig. 3.37: Time spent on mass media by location 53
Fig. 3.38: Level of confidence in different mass media by location 55
Fig. 3.39: Preference of information by location - Newspapers and Magazines 55
Fig. 3.40: Preference of information by location - Television and Radio 56
Fig. 3.41: Preference of information by location - Internet 57
Fig. 4.1: Estimates of youth readers and non-readers 63
Fig. 4.2: Distribution of readers and non-readers by location 63
Fig. 4.3: Distribution of readers and non-readers by region 64
Fig. 4.4: Distribution of readers and non-readers by social group 65
Fig. 4.5: Distribution of readers and non-readers by religion 65
Fig. 4.6: Distribution of readers and non-readers by type of family 65
Fig. 4.7: Distribution of readers and non-readers by level of parents' education 66
Fig. 4.8: Distribution of readers and non-readers by parent's activity 66
Fig. 4.9: Distribution of readers and non-readers by gender 67
Fig. 4.10: Distribution of readers and non-readers by age group 68
Fig. 4.11: Distribution of readers and non-readers by level of education 68
Fig. 4.12: Distribution of readers and non-readers by activity status 68
Fig. 4.13: Preferred major languages for reading leisure books 69
Fig. 4.14: Pattern of ownership of leisure books by location 69
Fig. 4.15: Demographic profile of youth readers and pattern of ownership of leisure books 72
Fig. 4.16: Frequency of reading books 73
Fig. 4.17: Frequency of reading books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 74
Fig. 4.18: Days read most 74
Fig. 4.19: Preferred days of reading books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 74
Fig. 4.20: Time of reading books 75
Fig. 4.21: Time of reading books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 75
Fig. 4.22: Genre of reading books 76
Fig. 4.23: Genre of leisure books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 76

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List of Figures
Fig. 4.24: Reading fiction books 77
Fig. 4.25: Reading fiction books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 77
Fig. 4.26: Reading non-fiction books 77
Fig. 4.27: Reading non-fiction books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 78
Fig. 4.28: Enjoy reading books 78
Fig. 4.29: Enjoy reading books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 78
Fig. 4.30: Rating of reading skills 79
Fig. 4.31: Rating of reading books by socio-economic profile of youth readers 79
Fig. 4.32: Frequency of discussion with parents about what youth read 80
Fig. 4.33: Frequency of discussion with parents about reading by socio-economic profile of youth readers 80
Fig. 4.34: Writing in diary about what youth read? 81
Fig. 4.35: Writing in your diary about reading by socio-economic profile of youth readers 81
Fig. 4.36: Distribution of literate youth by level of reading 82
Fig. 4.37: Access of bookshop near locality 83
Fig. 4.38: Awareness about library in the locality 84
Fig. 4.39: Efforts of library to promote reading habits 85
Fig. 4.40: Member of any library 85
Fig. 4.41: Demographic profile and membership of a library 85
Fig. 5.1: Demographic profile of youth and exchange of leisure books with friends and relatives 96
Fig. 5.2: Answer to a question "How many of your friends had the habit of reading books" 98
Fig. 5.3: Answer to a question "How many of your friends had the habit of reading book" by demographic profile of youth 98
Fig. 5.4: Answer to a question "Students who read books beyond their syllabus become more knowledgeable" 98
Fig. 5.5: Answer to a question "Students who read books beyond 99
their syllabus becomes more knowledgeable" by demographic profile of youth
Fig. 5.6: Answer to a question "Reading is more important than watching TV & surfing the Internet" 99
Fig. 5.7: Answer to a question "Reading is more important than watching 99
TV & surfing the Internet" by demographic profile of youth
Fig. 5.8: Answer to a question "Books are the most suitable medium 100
for knowledge transmission from generation to generation"
Fig. 5.9: Answer to a question "Books are most suitable medium for knowledge 100
transmission from generation to generation" by demographic profile of youth
Fig. 5.10: Answer to a question "Is reading habit declining" 100
Fig. 6.1: Distribution of literate youth by level of satisfaction of their overall achievement 106
Fig. 6.2: Proportion of youth satisfied with overall achievement 106
Fig. 6.3: Proportion of youth satisfied with overall achievement 107
Fig. 6.4: Awareness about selected schemes among literate youth 107
Fig. 6.5: Awareness among literate youth by location 107
Fig. 6.6: Source of information about various programmes by location 109
Fig. 6.7: Proportion of literate youth households benefited from youth programme 109
Fig. 6.8: Proportion of literate youth households benefited from youth programme by location 109
Fig. 6.9: Proportion of literate youth associated with organizations 110
Fig. 6.10: Do you think that reservation for women in the Parliament and 111
local government is a positive step on the part of the government?
Fig. 6.11: Proportion of literate youth in favour of Women's reservation in parliament & local government 111
Fig. 6.12: Distribution of literate youth by religiosity 111
Fig. 6.13: Proportion of religious youth by their socio-economic profile 112
Fig. 6.14: Proportion of religious youth by their religion 112
Fig. 6.15: Proportion of youth who believe that "Good luck is more important than hard work, for success" 112
Fig. 6.16: How much are you interested in science? 113
Fig. 6.17: Distribution of youth by level of interest in science by their socio-economic profile 113
Fig. 6.18: Youth perception about benefit of scientific advancement to mankind 113

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List of Figures
Fig. 6.19: Youth perception about benefit of scientific advancement to mankind by their socio-economic profile 114
Fig. 6.20: Distribution of youth by level of interest in medical research by their socio-economic profile 114
Fig. 6.21: Preference of source to get information about medical research 115
Fig. 6.22: Preference of source to get information about medical research by their socio-economic profile 115
Fig. 6.23: Perception of literate youth towards sex education by location 118
Fig. 6.24: Perception of literate youth towards sex education by gender 119
Fig. 6.25: Perception of literate youth towards sex education by level of education 119
Fig. 6.26: Perception of literate youth towards sex education by activity 119
Fig. 6.27: Readership status of youth and perception about sex education 119
Fig. 6.28: Appropriate level to introduce sex education as part of course curriculum 120
Fig. 6.29: Proportion of literate youth who support the current caste-based reservation in the higher education 120
Fig. 6.30: Distribution of literate youth those who support the current caste based reservation in higher education 120
Fig. 6.31: Distribution of literate youth those who support the 121
current caste based reservation in higher education
Fig. 6.32: Distribution of employed youth by level of satisfaction with current job by location 122
Fig. 6.33: Distribution of employed youth by level of satisfaction with current job by gender 122
Fig. 6.34: Distribution of unemployed youth by stream of education 122
Fig. 6.35: Perception about role of publishing house 122
Fig. 6.36: Perception of youth about role of publishing house by their socio-economic profile 123
Fig. 6.37: Youth Perception about role of editors in publishing house 123
Fig. 6.38: Youth Perception about role of editors by demographic profile 123

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National Action Plan for the Readership Development

among the Youth (NAPRDY)

WHEN THE NATIONAL BOOK TRUST, India was set up, its founding father Shri Jawaharlal Nehru talked
about NBT serving "as a kind of 'book hospital' for finding out what generally stood in the way of books
being purchased and read." National Book Trust, India had got a survey of Indian publishing done by
NCAER on the occasion of its silver jubilee celebrations in 1982. Since then many momentous changes
have taken place, and the NBT found it the right time to take stock of the reading habits, patterns,
trends, attitudes, etc. among the youth of the country. Our golden jubilee celebrations in the year 2007
enabled us to take up the initiative. It is needless to say that for any large scale book promotion and
publishing venture to succeed, it is imperative to find ways to connect and interact with the youth of the
country, which not only form the largest chunk of our population but demand a serious response from
the intellectuals and publishers in terms of their reading needs in the fast changing socio-political and
cultural landscape of our nation. With NCAER, the National Book Trust, India formed an Advisory
Committee of eminent personalities from different walks of life, who not only interacted with the NBT-
NCAER team continuously but also guided and moulded the contours of the study. The target group for
the study taken is 13-35 and NBT, India hopes to take its findings right into the realm of public debate so
that a feasible National Action Plan for the Readership Development Among the Youth could be devised.
Our ambitious plan is to make all youth in the age group of 15-25 an 'Active Reader' by the year 2025.
Naturally, the target is ambitious, and to achieve it we wish to enlist the help, guidance and support of
the policy makers, intellectuals, book lovers, publishing fraternity, youth leaders, social activists and the
people of the country.

Ms. Nuzhat Hassan

Director
Source: Financial Express, February 09, 2010 National Book Trust, India

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

ASHA Accredited Social Health Activist
BPL Below Poverty Line
CSO Central Statistical Organisation
DDI District Development Index
GOI Government of India
MORI Market & Opinion Research International
NAPRDY National Action Plan for Readership Development among the Youth
NBT National Book Trust
NCAER National Council of Applied Economic Research
NCERT National Council of Education Research and Training
NFHS National Family Health Survey
NLM National Literacy Mission
NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
NSSO National Sample Survey Organisation
NYP National Youth Policy
NYRS National Youth Readership Survey
OBC Other Backward Caste
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
RTI Right to Information Act
S&T Science and Technology
SC Scheduled Caste
SHG Self Help Group
SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
ST Scheduled Tribe
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

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Executive Summary
T
HERE IS NOW GROWING
acceptance of the fact that a
country’s social and economic
progress greatly depends on its
people having access to the vast
expanse of knowledge provided by
the printed word. This is all the
more relevant to a country like
India where the youth constitute a sizeable
portion of its total population. Economic planners
in India have always focused on this vital
constituency. The National Youth Policy, 2003
reiterated the commitment of the entire nation
to the composite and all-round development of
the young sons and daughters of India. The Policy
recognises that in order to facilitate effective youth
participation in the decision-making processes,
it is essential that this vital and vibrant group is
equipped with requisite knowledge, skills and
capabilities. In other words, youth power can be
harnessed for the country’s development only
by providing young Indian with the right dose of
education, motivation and exposure to the
outside world. In today’s world, uneducated and
malnourished workers find little place in
productive employment.
The 21st century is truly the era of the
“learning society” — continuous learning is
necessary, it is believed, if economic devel-
opment is to be ensured. There is a flood of
information everywhere. The young people of
today require to read much more than their
forebears, to fulfill their obligation as
responsible citizens as well as meet their
personal and social objectives. The country can
compete with developed countries only if it
creates a strong culture of reading among its
youth. Without a regular reading habit, the
advantages accruing from literacy, or what is
learnt in school, may be quickly frittered away.
Progress in science and technology is
happening at such a rapid rate that conven-
tional or class room education is no longer
sufficient. Therefore, it is high time that our
educators think in terms of imparting what
is known as “life-long education”, or more
aptly, “life-long self-education”. Books have
a significant role to play in this process. “A
good reader is a good learner” — this is a
notable finding of reading research — and
this would also be the key to success both
at school and in later life when the youth are
ready to contribute to national development.
Non-fiction books are an excellent aid
in this regard — they help develop talents
and interests which last a lifetime. Building
up solid knowledge is indeed a way of
developing character.
Developed countries undertake studies on
regular basis to assess the readership status
and follow the reading habits among their
youth. However, in developing countries like
India, barring a few micro-level studies, no
systematic investigation, at national level,
has been conducted to assess the general
readership status, reading habits and
preferences among the youth, and their
dependence on various developmental
indicators. It was against this backdrop that
the National Book trust, India, a premier
national body for book publishing and
promotion functioning under the Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government
of India, approached the National Council of
Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to
undertake the National Youth Readership
Survey (NYRS-2009) to generate data for the
present investigation.
NYRS-2009 covered various aspects
pertaining to reading habits and readership
development among youth in a fairly detailed
manner. The demographic profile of Indian
youth, according to sex, age, level of education,
occupation and other socio-economic
characteristics has been prepared. How often,
how much and what does today’s youth read?
What types of reading materials do they
generally seek? What are their preferences
and interests with regard to reading subject
matter? Why do they read and what are their
attitudes towards reading? What were their
motivations for reading? What are the
conditions conducive for developing reading
habits? How significant was the influence of
reading role models and peers on reading-
habit formation? Do they read to acquire new
skills and knowledge, or to improve existing
talents? Do other sources of information like
TV and internet affect reading habits? These
are some of the important questions that
are answered in the report along with
other findings.
MAJOR FINDINGS
Demographic Profile of The Indian Youth
 The youth population in India (13-35 years)
was 459 million, constituting about 38 per
cent of the total population of the country,
and is expected to reach 574 million
by 2020.
 The population of literate youth was 333
million in 2009, which accounts for 27.4
per cent of the country’s total population and
about 73 per cent of the total youth
population. Population of literate youths
has grown at 2.49 per cent between 2001
and 2009, which is higher than the overall
population growth (2.08%). Growth was
more rapid in urban India (3.15% per annum)
than rural (2.11%).
 It is significant that of the total literate youth,
62 per cent (206.6 million) live in rural areas
and the rest (126.1 million) in urban areas.
Of all the literate youth in the country, about
44 per cent are females.
 The average age of the Indian youth to
complete their highest education level is
around 15 years, which means most Indian
youth drop out without going for further
education beyond 15 years of age.
 About 82 per cent of the total estimated
literate youth are Hindus, 13 per cent are
Muslims, and 2 per cent each Sikh and
Christian. The share of Hindus increases with
the level of education; however, in the case
of other religions, particularly Muslims, the
shares at different educational levels show
a visible declining trend.
 A higher proportion of the literate youth
comes from households whose main source
of income is regular salary/wages(33%)
followed by ‘self-employment in
agriculture’(31%).
 Hindi is the principal medium of instruction;
however, as the youth go for higher
education the proportion of Hindi as the
medium of instruction declines.
 OBCs make up 40 per cent of the literate
youth, followed by general castes (27%),
SC (23%) and ST (10%). Majority of literate
OBC youth are from southern, western and
central Indian states; general caste
literate youths dominate in northern,
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Executive Summary
eastern and north-eastern states, and a
higher proportion of ST literate youth come
from the north-eastern states.
 Amongst the literate youth, the highest
proportion (41%) belongs to the age group
25-35 years, which is the primary work
force of the country.
 Level of education among the youth is
directly related to their parents’ education.
Nearly 54 per cent of the professional
degree holders, 38 per cent of postgradu-
ates and 30 per cent graduates have parents
with ‘above matric’ qualification. Most thinly
educated youth come from parents who have
not completed their school education.
 The educational achievement of literate
youth is also closely linked to the major
source of household income. The majority
of the ‘graduate and above’ youths belong
to regular salary/wage-dependent house-
holds. The youth with meager education
belong to families engaged as labour(42%).
 The occupation of parents does influence
the education level of the youth. About 71
per cent of youth with professional degrees
and 59 per cent of the postgraduates have
salaried parents or those self-employed in
non-agriculture, while the proportion of the
highly-educated with labourer-parents is
very small (9-13%).
 Of all the literate youth, about 10 per cent
(6% rural,16% urban) are graduate and
above while an overwhelmingly large 76
per cent (82% rural, 68% urban) are
‘matriculates or below’.
 About 59 per cent of the youth with
graduate degrees and 69 per cent with post-
graduate degrees reside in towns and cities.
The share is as high as 86 per cent when
the youth have professional degrees.
 About 32 per cent of the literate youth are
students and 20 per cent are engaged in
‘unpaid housework’; only 12 per cent are
salaried employees.
 Of the total literate youth in the country, the
major portion (77.8 million) comes from
the south Indian states constituting about
23 per cent, while another 21per cent come
from central Indian states.
Youths' Exposure to Mass Media
 About 77 per cent of the literate youth
population is interested in music & films,
72 per cent in news & current affairs, 59
per cent in religious and spiritual topics,
xxvi
35 per cent in science and technology and
34 per cent in environmental pollution. More
males than females are interested in news
and politics, but the reverse is the case with
fashion and religious and spiritual topics.
 Television remains the most popular source
of information for the youth followed by
newspapers. However, while 54 per cent of
the youth view television for entertainment
and 22 per cent for news and current affairs,
about 63 per cent read newspapers to gather
news and information on current event and
only 10 per cent reading for entertainment.
 Watching TV is the most preferred leisure
activity, followed by newspaper reading. In
fact, a literate youth spends on an average
98 minutes daily viewing TV, 32 minutes on
newspaper reading, 44 minutes reading
magazines, 70 minutes surfing the net, and
61 minutes per day listening to the radio.
 About 24 per cent of households have
newspaper subscription (15% rural, 39%
urban) and 8 per cent (5% rural, 12% urban)
magazine subscription. Four out of every
seven households of ‘graduate and above’
youth and three out of every eight urban
households have newspaper subscription.
 Two out of every eight households of
‘graduate and above’ youth, one out of every
eight households of ‘higher secondary’ passed,
and one out of every 15 households of ‘primary’
passed have magazine subscription.
 More girls than boys show interest in
reading books during leisure time but more
boys than girls read newspapers. Readership
of books, newspapers and magazines also
increases with rising level of education but
decreases with increasing age. The proportion
of those reading books during leisure time
declines with increasing age groups.
 Hindi, with 38.5 per cent followed by Marathi
(10.5%) and Tamil (9%) have emerged as
the three most preferred languages for
newspaper readers.
 The literate youth had a higher level of
confidence in newspapers than TV. However,
about 75 per cent of Internet users
expressed confidence in the Internet.
 Almost 65 per cent of the youth households
in India own TV, 54 per cent own mobile
phones, 27 per cent own radio and 5 per cent
have own computers at home. About
86 per cent of the urban households own
TV as against 52 per cent in the case of
rural households.
 The internet is accessed by 3.7 per cent of
the youth (7.7% urban, 1.3% rural), for
e-mails and chatting in more than half of the
cases. It is used for entertainment in 14 per
cent of the time, for reading books online in
4 per cent of the cases and also to search
for new book titles in 1.2 per cent of the
cases. It is accessed at Internet cafes in
46 per cent of the cases, at home in 23 per
cent, and at the workplace in 13 per cent.
Youth Readers: Their Reading Habits
and Attitudes
 Of the 83 million total youth readers (25% of
the youth population), about 39 million (47%)
are urban and 44 million (53%) are rural; 53
per cent of the literate youth are males;
frequency of readers amongst males and
females is 24 and 27 per cent respectively;
frequency of readers in rural and urban
segments is 21 and 31 per cent respectively.
 With 58 per cent of the readers, the level of
education attained is matriculation or below,
only 42 per cent are above matriculation.
 The southern region has 24 per cent youth
readers, followed by the eastern and
western regions, both having nearly 22 per
cent readers, the central region(12%), the
northern region(13%) and the north-eastern
belt having the least share of youth
readers(7%).
 About 43 per cent of Christian and 25 per
cent of Hindu youth read leisure books.
Readership among the Sikh youth is 13 per
cent. The Hindu readers constitute about
82 per cent of the total readers as against
12 per cent share of Muslims.
 Youth belonging to joint families and even
those staying in hostels or other places of
accommodation read more than those
staying in nuclear families.
 Readership is closely liked to parents’ level
of education. While 49 per cent of youth
with ‘graduate and above’ parents and 39
per cent with ‘higher-secondary’ parents
read leisure books, it is only 17 per cent
among youth with illiterate parents. However,
youth with ‘graduate and above’ parents
form only 12 per cent of the total readers
as against 47 per cent in case of youth with
primary-passed or illiterate parents.
 Readership is also significantly higher
among youth with salaried (30%), retired
(39%) parents compared to youth with
agriculturist or labourer parents (22%).
others.qxd 5/19/2010 9:52 PM Page 26
While 40 per cent of readers have salaried
parents, only 32 per cent have
agriculturist or labourer parents.
 About 25 per cent of literate youth read
books for pleasure, relaxation and
knowledge enhancement; more females
(27%) read leisure books than males (24%).
 The reading habit is more among the younger
generation compared to elder youth since
many youth in higher age groups are likely
to be involved with other activities to
sustain their families. Readership also
declines towards lower levels of education.
 Hindi is the most preferred language for
leisure reading (33.4%) followed by Marathi
(13.2%), Bengali (7.7%) and English (5.3%).
 Youth readers prefer to read leisure books
mostly on holidays (36%) while only about
4 per cent read on working days; 75 per cent
read books ‘at least once a week’, while
26.4 per cent read ‘daily’; about 88 per cent
read at ‘home’, only a miniscule reading in
their schools/colleges or libraries.
 There was a clear association between books
possessed by a youth and her or his being
a reader or nonreader.
 Fiction is the most preferred genre among
the youth (42%) followed by non-fiction
(24%). Three most preferred genres of fiction
books are fantasy, comics and classics and
the least preferred are romance and
graphic novels. Most preferred non-fiction
books are religious books and biographies/
autobiographies.
 About 39 per cent youth are members of
public libraries, 46.2 per cent of
school/college libraries, and 14.7 per cent
of other libraries, which include private
institutions as well.
 Surprisingly, only 3 per cent of literate youth
visited book promotion events ‘every year’;
a staggering 85 per cent have never visited
these events. There was a clear positive
association between readership status and
visits to book promotion events.
 The four most important reasons for not
reading enough are ‘lack of interest in
reading’, ‘lack of time to read’, ‘advent of
new channels of information’ and ‘lack of
availability of books at affordable prices’.
 Asked how they got information about books,
38 per cent of the youth said that they
obtained it from friends/family while 20 per
cent said that they got the information from
bookshops, and 14 per cent relied on libraries.
 About the modes of procurement of books,
56 per cent talked of buying books and
19 per cent youth liked to borrow from friends.
 While buying leisure books price, subject,
and author profile are the three most
important factors taken into consideration
by youth readers.
 Asked to indicate the purpose of reading from
a list given, 46 per cent chose ‘knowledge
enhancement’ and 19-20 per cent each said
that they read for ‘pleasure’ and ‘relaxation’.
 To the query, ‘Do you think that you read enough’
51 per cent of the youth readers replied in the
affirmative, 35 per cent said they did not read
enough but would like to read more.
Luring the Youth into Reading
 Schools have emerged as the hotbed of
readership development. About 59 per cent
of the youth who had a reading habit said
they were initiated into reading in their
school, while about 20 per cent learned it
from their parents.
 Asked whether their teachers encouraged
them to read, 50 per cent of the readers and
19 per cent of the non-readers answered
in the affirmative as against the overall
percentage of teacher encouragement (27%).
 Almost 83 per cent of the youth with a
reading habit found the reading hour in their
schools interesting, while 65 per cent of
the non-readers found it interesting.
 In the case of readers, parents’ reading
interest and involvement was comparatively
more than that in the case of non-readers.
 About 28 per cent of the youth lend leisure
books to friends and family members,
12 per cent have presented gifts to others
while another 12 per cent received gifts.
 Peer influence on the reading habit was
clearly visible when 74 per cent of the
readers reported that their peers had
interest in reading, while only 34 per cent
of the non-readers did so.
 The majority of the youth agreed that students
who read books beyond their syllabus
become more knowledgeable and
successful. About 75 per cent agreed that
reading is more important than watching
TV or surfing the net. Nearly 77 per cent also
agreed that books were the most suitable
medium for knowledge transmission.
 About half the respondent youth shared the
perception that the reading habit was
declining. Almost 48 per cent found the
Executive Summary
advent of the Internet and electronic
media as the most important reason for
the declining trend in reading.
 Three suggestions for promoting reading
habit that found the maximum support of
the youth are motivation and encouragement,
compulsory leisure reading in schools, and
easy access to libraries, with motivation
and encouragement being supported by
the maximum number of youth.
General Awareness and Perception of
Indian Youth
 Although a larger proportion (61%) of the
literate youth are satisfied with their
overall achievement, the percentage of
those not satisfied (34%) is still too large to
merit closer observation. There was a
distinct difference in the satisfaction levels
of those who had the reading habit (70%)
and non-readers (58%).
 Financial difficulties, household responsi-
bilities, and parents/husband not permitting
emerged as the paramount reasons for the
youth not pursuing higher education.
 More youth were aware about NREGA and
SSA — two programmes directly linked to
livelihood and education, while awareness
about RTI was very low.
 Newspapers/magazines and television
emerged as the main sources of informa-
tion about the development programmes.
 About 67 per cent of the literate youth agreed
with reservation for women in the
Parliament and local government.
 While an overwhelming proportion (76%) of
the literate youth said they were religious,
almost 48 per cent believed that good luck
is more important than hard work for
success with an equal percentage in urban
and rural areas.
 About 75 per cent literate youth evinced
some amount of interest in science-25 per
cent being very much interested in science
and 50 per cent being fairly interested.
 The majority of the urban youth and more
males agreed that global warming,
biodiversity and environmental pollution
were serious issues.
 About 40% of the literate youth felt that
publishing houses have a ‘very important’
role to play in society, and as such an almost
equal per cent (39%) of them also perceived
a ‘very important’ role for the editors in
these publishing houses.
xxvii