The Indian Publishers Conference 2026, organised by the Federation of Indian Publishers, was held in New Delhi on 22 August 2026, bringing together publishers, authors, policymakers, technology leaders, legal experts and industry professionals to examine how artificial intelligence can be utilised while protecting the copyright, intellectual property, editorial integrity and value of original content.
During the Conference, several sessions were organised including ‘Building an AI-Ready Publishing Ecosystem: Policy, Skills, Workflows and Business Models for the Future.’ The panellists on the occasion were: Shri Yuvraj Malik, Director, NBT; Shri Senthil Nathan, Founder and CEO, Ailaysa Technologies Pvt Ltd; and Shri Pranav Gupta, Vice President, Federation of Indian Publishers. The session was moderated by Shri Vikrant Mathur, Executive Director, Nielsen BookData.
Speaking of the responsible and purposeful use of AI within publishing, Shri Yuvraj Malik remarked that while AI is a creation of human intelligence and will remain a tool, it is ultimately human judgement, intellect and imagination that will continue to chart the course of the publishing industry.
In the session, the panellists also talked about workforce readiness, digital infrastructure, content and metadata standards, innovation incentives, emerging revenue models and greater collaboration between publishers and policymakers. They emphasised that there is a need for an enabling environment that supports creativity, intellectual property, technological innovation and the long-term growth of the publishing and knowledge economy.