It has been nearly three years since Krishna Rao’s printing press at Ajith Singh Nagar in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, saw any activity. Set up in a rented space, the unit was once a source of employment for 40 semi-skilled and skilled workers, most from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
With mounting expenses and no income, he had to shut it down for two years, in 2022 and 2023. After clearing all his debts gradually over three years, Krishna Rao, whose main business was printing and supplying textbooks to the Andhra Pradesh government, was looking forward to opening his unit again in February.
But his hopes were dashed last month. On February 2 the government issued a notification inviting tenders from across the country to print the textbooks for students in State-run schools. Printers would also need to procure paper on their own. Earlier, the A.P. government would supply paper to establishments like Krishna Rao’s to print textbooks. This is the first time in 25 years that such a tender has been put out.
