S Chand Group: Turning the page
For nearly nine decades, S Chand Group has been synonymous with India’s classrooms. Now, as artificial intelligence, hybrid learning and shifting student habits reshape education, the publishing giant is writing a bold new chapter, one that positions it not merely as a publisher, but as a knowledge company for the future.
Founded in 1939 by the late Padma Shri Shyam Lal Gupta, S Chand Group is one of India’s largest and most respected publishers. With an 87-year legacy of high-quality content creation, publishing and distribution in the education space, it has built long-term and enduring customer relationships. Over the past two decades, it has increased its focus on investing in digital offerings across its business segments. S Chand Group became a publicly listed company, trading on both major Indian stock exchanges, in 2017. This ‘Made in India’ brand is unique because it has developed and nurtured Indian authors and academicians both before and after Independence.
The group has a pan-India distribution and sales network, providing deep market reach through more than 4,000 distributors and dealers across the length and breadth of India. The company is principally engaged in publishing educational books, with products including school books, higher academic books, competition and reference books, technical and professional books, and children’s books. It provides its products and services in both print and digital formats. In addition, the company exports print and digital content to over 15 countries across South Asia, SAARC, the Middle East, Africa and other parts of the world.
With more than 13,500 unique book titles, it sells over 50 million books annually. With the help of its in-house sales team of over 800 professionals working across more than 30 branches and marketing offices, it reaches K-12 and higher education institutions across the country. S Chand Group, with several decades of experience in content publishing, has undertaken pioneering initiatives to become the content provider of choice for educational content in India and abroad. It has, to its credit, many popular titles by renowned authors across all subjects at the K-12, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as in the competitive examination segment. In addition, S Chand’s leading publications are used by students preparing for professional examinations such as Chartered Accountancy, engineering and management.
As a leading Indian education content company, it offers solutions and services across the education lifecycle through its presence in three business segments: Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education. It has a strong foothold in CBSE and ICSE-affiliated schools and is increasingly present in state board-affiliated schools across India. S Chand Group is one of India’s largest and most respected publishers, with a team strength of over 2,000 employees across the country. Its specialist sales team of more than 800 members covers over 45,000 schools and more than 600 universities across India. The group also has a highly qualified in-house editorial team of more than 250 employees who create high-quality content for the current generation of students and learners.
S Chand Group is one of the largest providers of customised course material to many large distance-learning universities in India. The group has published over 5,000 titles in Engineering, Management, Computer Science, Arts and Humanities, adhering to the prescribed curriculum standards. Its published textbooks are compulsory or recommended reading in schools, colleges and other educational institutions. It has produced multiple bestsellers across segments, along with long-standing relationships with established authors such as Lakhmir Singh, Manjit Kaur, RS Aggarwal, SK Gupta, Anubhuti Gangal, BL Thareja, RS Khurmi, and Wren & Martin. Efficient distribution through its well-developed dealer network ensures the availability of books even in the most remote parts of the country.
The business of knowledge
Group CFO Saurabh Mittal has been with the group since 2006 and has worked closely with Himanshu Gupta and Dinesh Kumar Jhunjhnuwala. Today, he helps not only with finance but also with policy decision-making, investor relations and related areas.
Mittal says the group comprises its major subsidiaries, each with its own CEO and finance head. These companies are run independently, while certain functions, such as finance and legal, are managed from the corporate office. The main brands of S Chand Group include S Chand Publishing, Madhubun Educational Books, New Saraswati House, Chhaya Prakashani and CPD Singapore Education Services.
S Chand Group undertook major acquisitions over the past 15 years. It acquired Vikas Publishing (Madhubun) in 2012, New Saraswati House in 2014, Chhaya Prakashani in 2016 and CPD Education Services in 2026. The company went public in 2017.
“Despite being a legacy business, S. Chand Group has always been forward-looking. Over the years, while there have been transitions, educational expectations have evolved very quickly, although actual adoption has taken time. The process of teaching cannot change as rapidly on the ground, at least in school education, where it is all about concepts. Of course, assessment patterns have changed on the government side. For instance, the CBSE and ICSE examinations depend on government policy. What is needed for a college degree is something completely different. In keeping with the times, we have also expanded our content creation as we support AI companies, and we have more than 3,000 authors.”
On the business front, S. Chand Group is on the strongest footing it has been in over 15 years. Its working capital is now half what it was 5 years ago, and it has been net debt-free for the past 3 years. Its market capitalisation may be lower than it deserves, but that is largely a matter of investors’ perceptions of the education industry. The market appears to be undervaluing the intellectual property that the group owns. What has also not helped is the underperformance of some other players in the industry in recent years, including Educomp, Byju’s, Tree House Education and WhiteHat Jr. Nevertheless, S. Chand Group continues on its path of steady growth, driven by strong profitability, cash flows and efficient working-capital management.
S Chand Group is also a gender-inclusive workplace, with many of the group’s senior positions held by women. Priya Malhotra, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Corporate Communications, says that being a woman leader in the traditionally male-dominated publishing sector brings challenges of its own, even though it is also a privilege.
“While the sector is evolving, deeply entrenched mindsets and structures often make it harder for women’s voices to be heard and for their leadership styles to be recognised. The goal isn’t just to thrive as a woman in this sector: it’s to help reshape it. I’ve been fortunate to work with truly inclusive leaders at S Chand Group. Their belief in a meritocratic culture, encouragement of diverse voices, and commitment to empowering women in leadership have not only shaped my journey but are also helping redefine what impactful, forward-thinking leadership looks like in our industry. The key for me has been staying deeply aligned with the core purpose – improving learning outcomes – while tailoring the strategy, tone and execution to fit the audience and medium. It’s about balancing tradition with transformation: respecting what has been built while being brave enough to evolve.”
Naveen Rajlani, CEO of Madhubun Educational Books, is equally clear in his views. “The last decade has seen a paradigm shift from the company’s focus on supplying quality textbooks to becoming a learning partner for schools, offering a range of products and services beyond books. Our role was once limited to educational research and designing books; today, we are fully entrenched in the school ecosystem as partners in excellence. We have collaborated with international and national partners, ranging from global giants such as Google Lens and Penguin to companies with specialist expertise, including Jump Math, Allied and Freedom. We have introduced curriculum products that redefine school education, creating leadership opportunities for schools and building confidence among all stakeholders – whether educationists or parents – to ensure the successful, holistic learning journey of their children. With revenue growth, our sales profile has expanded to include partnerships with school leadership. Product roles have been introduced to mentor educators, while editorial and publishing roles have expanded to redefine products and manage school expectations.”
“We are design thinkers, digital leaders and innovators par excellence. We have grown beyond publishing, combining decades of experience in quality education with new-age thought leadership to propel the nation into its next phase of growth. We value every form of intelligence and place human values at the heart of everything we do.”
S Chand Group has its own state-of-the-art in-house printing facility and warehouse, giving the company economies of scale while maintaining high product quality at competitive prices.
Its content-licensing partnerships with global technology leaders developing generative AI large language models (LLMs) have established a new and rapidly growing revenue stream. In just 3 years, this business has begun contributing approximately 5 per cent of revenue and appears poised to reach double digits.
The group is also forging new partnerships with schools and universities to become their learning partner. It has recently tied up with Shiv Nadar University, along with leading technology companies, to drive the next phase of growth.
AI, EdTech and digital learning are all here to stay, but given India’s realities, the transition is likely to be gradual. An 87-year-old publishing institution is embracing artificial intelligence and hybrid learning while remaining firmly rooted in the trust that built its brand.
Interview
The knowledge keepers
Business India met the promoters, Himanshu Gupta, Managing Director, and Dinesh Kumar Jhunjhnuwala, Executive Director, at S Chand Group’s headquarters in New Delhi.
At the age of 46, Himanshu Gupta has over 25 years of experience in the education industry. He is the recipient of the Young Publisher Award from the Federation of Educational Publishers in India. He has also received the Family Entrepreneur of the Year award (Entrepreneur magazine) and The Economic Times 40 Under Forty award. An excerpt from an interview with Gupta:
For generations, S Chand textbooks have been part of India’s classrooms. How do you modernise a legacy brand without losing the trust built over decades?
“We felt that an increasing digital presence in the education sector was definitely going to happen in the coming years, and it has its pros and cons, but print has its own advantages as well. School education, not only in India but also in developed countries such as Switzerland, Australia and even China, went print-free for a while, but they are all returning to print while continuing to offer both forms of content access to students. This hybrid model seems to work well in India because, first, children are generally not allowed to bring devices into classrooms. Second, teachers are not yet trained to that level. Third, students have been conditioned to rely on memorisation and rote learning, so making notes and writing them down is much easier for them. All these factors are combined in India with examinations being conducted on paper rather than online in the majority of cases. We are still light-years away from going totally digital, although we are seeing that, in the higher education segment, digital adoption is happening at a faster pace than in the K-12 segment.
India has the largest school-going population in the world. With around 250 million school-age children, it has approximately 1.5 million schools and 8.5 million teachers. UNESCO data indicate that India has the highest numbers of children enrolled in primary (138.5 million) and secondary (129.5 million) education.
Is the company seeing a dip in sales as the world rapidly moves to different education systems, given that publishing is a slow-moving business in any case?
We are seeing growth in the K-12 segment. In fact, the recently announced National Education Policy 2020 has increased this pace of growth. There are challenges in the higher education space, but they are common to all players in that segment. For S Chand Group as a whole, over 85 per cent of our revenue comes from the K-12 segment, which is growing at a decent pace and leading to consistent growth for the company. We would like to think of ourselves as an education content company rather than just a print company.
Do you see yourself fundamentally as a publishing company or a broad-based learning enterprise?
As India’s largest education publisher navigates AI, digital learning and changing classrooms, S Chand Group is redefining what it means to be a knowledge company. At S Chand Group, we are committed to transforming education through innovation, inclusivity and excellence. As a leader in India’s education sector, we are evolving to meet the diverse needs of learners and educators across the nation. By leveraging our extensive content portfolio, we deliver high-quality learning materials tailored to varied learning styles. Our expansion into digital platforms enhances accessibility, engaging students beyond traditional classrooms. Our content licensing partnership with leading global technology companies for generative AI LLMs has also opened a high-margin revenue vertical for the company.
They say education publishing is often seen as a slow-growth business; why should investors even consider investing in it?
If the comparison is with new-age businesses, one might think of it as low growth, but it is a very stable industry. This is an industry that can grow in the high single digits to low double digits on a consistent and stable basis, delivering high-teen EBITDA margins with solid cash flows. The growth rates can be higher on the back of using M&A as a strategic tool to fill product gaps. We are very open to acquisitions if they fulfil our criteria of a good product fit, reasonable valuations and sound working-capital metrics.
How would you define the company’s transformation over the past few years from being a traditional publisher to a hybrid learning platform?
The company’s landscape looks more professional now, particularly in its people, teams and leadership. At S Chand Group, we have adopted both approaches – the professional and the traditional – and that suits us well.
The market tends to assign lower multiples to publishing businesses than to technology-led education companies. Do you believe S Chand remains misunderstood by investors?
Investors have to consider the strengths of the education sector. This is a very resilient business model with reasonable growth at reasonable valuations. A company like ours shows steady growth, high-teen EBITDA margins, good profitability, strong cash flows and regular dividend payouts. Not all industries are the same; therefore, expecting Industry X to behave like Industry Y is unreasonable. I remember the first time we raised private equity funding, in 2012, with Everstone Capital. A lot of people around us were circumspect about the industry, but we were able to prove our detractors wrong over the next couple of years.
Explaining why people should invest in S. Chand Group, Dinesh Kumar Jhunjhnuwala says with good humour:
‘If I were an investor, honestly, I would be happy to invest in a company with such a long legacy that is not a fly-by-night operator. We have never had any dark spots, except during the Covid period, which was beyond our control. In addition, we have been a net debt-free company for some time now.’