Govt to launch awareness campaign to help people identify genuine 'Balbharati' textbooks: Minister

Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) The Maharashtra government will launch an awareness campaign from the coming academic year to help people identify genuine textbooks published by 'Balbharati', its official agency, a state minister told the state assembly on Friday.

In a written reply during the question hour in the Lower House, School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse said more than 20,000 fake copies of textbooks designed and published by Balbharati, were seized from a private printing press in Nagpur district in December 2025.

He said that the incident of illegal printing of textbooks for Classes 9 to 12 was detected during a raid at the press in the Hingna MIDC area of Nagpur.

Officials of the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research or Balbharati conducted an on-site inspection, following which an FIR was registered against the concerned persons, he said.

The owner of the printing press was arrested and the stock of fake books was confiscated, he added in the reply.

The minister said the government has alerted its regional officers across the state to monitor and inspect private printing presses wherever necessary to curb such illegal activities.

To help identify genuine textbooks, QR codes will be printed on designated pages of official textbooks from this academic year, he said, adding that awareness campaigns will be conducted through media in May and June to inform students, parents and booksellers. PTI MR NP