With the rising popularity of digital handheld devices in India, it was only a matter of time before people started looking for e-books in local languages. “We saw a market for famous literary works in Indian languages,” says Samir Khandwala, founder and CEO, iMusti.com. iMusti, Rockstand, and SwiftBoox are among a handful of companies fulfilling that demand.
Such content is not easily available in digital stores. “We want to cater to readers across the globe looking for a reliable and legal platform to browse, buy, and read such books,” says Santanu Chowdhury, CEO and co-founder, AppsWorld Software, which owns SwiftBoox.
The conversion cycle, from engaging with the publisher and getting the source files, takes a long time. As does convincing publishers to enter the e-book market. But the bigger challenge is to develop software for e-books. “Our priority is to develop content. So we have partnered with publishers and launched a beta version with about 200 titles,” says Chowdhury. SwiftBoox has e-books in Bengali and Marathi, and plans to add Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam titles. There were more than 250 sign-ups on the portal and about 150 downloads in the past five months.
The companies are aware that the shift to e-reading will take time. “The tipping point may be about 18-24 months from now,” says Chowdhury.