To promote the culture of reading and develop a love for books in society, the National Book Trust (NBT) India has launched an innovative mobile book exhibition bus titled “Books on Wheel.” This bus will tour various locations across the Pune district from October 16 to December 21, and will be stationed permanently in Pune thereafter.
Through this initiative, people from both rural and urban areas will get an opportunity to experience a confluence of ideas, emotions, and values through books. The project aims to strengthen the reading movement and will serve as a beautiful blend of knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment for readers, students, teachers, and parents alike.
Book on Wheels | Anand Chaini
Ahead of the upcoming Pune Book Festival, the bus was inaugurated on Thursday by State Minister for Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil. Present on the occasion were NBT Director Yuvraj Malik, Pune Book Festival Chief Coordinator Rajesh Pandey, industrialist Vishal Chordia, Dr. Vinod Gaikwad, Lokmanya Multipurpose Cooperative Bank Chairman Kiran Thakur, MNGL Officer Kumar Shankaran, Deccan Education Society Board Chairman Pramod Ravat, and Yashasvi Group Chairman Vishwesh Kulkarni, among others.
The mobile bus will offer over 4,000 books in Marathi, Hindi, and English, bringing quality literature within easy reach of readers from both rural and urban regions. The collection includes special series such as:
India – The Land and the People
Tarun Bharati (Youth India)
Popular Social Science
World Literature
National Biography Series
Lok Sahitya Mala (People’s Literature Series)
Prime Minister’s Mentorship Scheme for Young Authors
India @75
Nehru Children’s Library
Bilingual Book Series
Asia-Pacific Co-Publication Series
The bus team consists of five members, four of whom have come from Delhi. The entire initiative has been organized under the guidance of Shailesh Joshi.
Attractive Features of the ‘Books on Wheels’ Bus
Extensive interior and exterior book display
TV screens showcasing NBT’s latest initiatives
External digital display – informative and eye-catching
Two air-conditioning units for a comfortable browsing experience
10% discount on all books
Popular Books
Our Parliament, Medicinal Plants, Our Environment, Human Rights, Democracy, Indian Society, Tottochan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar are among the featured titles.
For Young Readers
The Search for Truth, Pollution, A Visit to the Zoo, Stories of Heroes, and The World of Trees are among the educational titles available for children.
"'Books on Wheel’ is not just a bus but a moving book exhibition. Through this initiative, the love for reading will grow, and the reading movement will be enriched. As this bus travels through Pune city and its rural areas, it will greatly benefit schools and colleges,” said Chandrakant Patil, Minister for Higher and Technical Education.
