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to be bundled with the content files. Readers require pluginsto be able to read such files on their devices. Althoughagencies of the government, not-for-profit organisations,and also technologists’ groups and industry bodies aremaking efforts, especially for adoption of UNICODE standards,there is still a distance to cover in this regard.(Some of the publishers in Indian languages who havelaunched their ebook lists, and the platforms which supportthem are mentioned in the trade e-books sectionabove.)A Tamil e-reader application, NHM Reader, was recentlylaunched by the Chennai-based publishing company, NewHorizon Media. The cloud-based ereader application, inspiredby the Kindle app and its features, is currently availablefor iOS. The app will allow readers to adjust font sizesand background colours. New Horizon Media is developingthe NHM Reader for Android devices too. The company,which has been involved in developing a series of Indianlanguagesoftware applications, also runs an online retailstore.For a listings of companies, see Part IVNotes1. Indian Youth: Demographics and Readership – Resultsfrom the National Youth Readership Survey2009, National Book Trust, India in association withNational Council of Applied Economic Research, NewDelhi: 2010. See the table of contents and an executivesummary here.2. Source: Vernacular Report 2012. Report by Internetand Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in associationwith IMRB International, Mumbai: January 2013.3. Source: Mobile Internet in India – December 2012.Report by Internet and Mobile Association of India(IAMAI) in association with IMRB International, Mumbai:January 2013.4. Source: Personal interview with Malcolm Neill, DirectorContent Acquisition and Publisher Relations APACfor Kobo. 22 September 2013.5. Source: Personal communication with Kailash Balani,Managing Director, Balani Infotech, a library and informationservices company, which supplies ebooksto universities and libraries.6. Source: R. Krishna Mohan, Manager (production) –Higher Academics at Orient Blackswan. Interviewpublished in Book Special, PrintWeek India special issue,September 2013.7. Source: PM Sukumar, CEO, HarperCollins PublishersIndia. Interview published in Book Special, PrintWeekIndia special issue, September 2013.8. Source: Kapish Mehra, Managing Director, Rupa Publications.Interview published in Book Special, Print-Week India special issue, September 2013.9. Source: Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO, Westland Limited.Interview published in Book Special, PrintWeekIndia special issue, September 2013.10. Source: Kinjal Shah, COO, Crossword Bookstores. Spokenon the panel discussion “The Evolution of BookRetail in India”, at Publishing Next, 2013, on 21 September2013.The Arab eBook MarketeBooks and the digital distribution of written content havethe potential of becoming a game changer in the Arabworld, by opening access to knowledge, learning, and alsopleasure reading in a region that traditionally was knownfor high rates of illiteracy and ailing distribution channelsfor books. Digital distribution can perhaps overcome someof these hurdles and bring books within reach of a youngpopulation that is quickly moving online with the help ofhugely popular electronic devices. With 64 percent ofadults owning a smartphone in the United Arab Emirates,digital access is, in principal, within reach of many today.2At a first glance, the status quo is complex, if not bleak.Despite a population of 280 million native Arab speakersspread between Morocco and the Gulf, an Arab book markethardly exists. Information on new title releases is hardto come by. Trading books across borders is limited andoften cumbersome. Surveys on reading behavior portraya region where reading books (if they are not about religion)is a pastime for only a small fraction of even the educatedstrata of the population. Political as well as economicuncertainty add heavily to this poor accounting. And yet,at least in some areas, notably in the Gulf but also in Saudi2. See the survey carried out by the telecom equipment vendor Ericsson, polling 47,500 Internet users aged 16 to 60 years in 58 countries and regionsin the first quarter of 2012, reported by various services, and the Wireless Federation on June 20, 2012.The Global eBook Report 82