New NCERT Class 9 English Book Introduced - Kaveri: What Students Should Know

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has launched a new English textbook for Class 9 called 'Kaveri'. This book is designed to give more importance to Indian writers and features elements of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). This new book replaces the two old textbooks, Beehive and Moments, that students used to study. The main idea behind 'Kaveri' is to make the school curriculum lighter and more relevant, following new rules set by the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

'Kaveri' is special because it focuses more on stories and poems written by Indian authors and includes lessons that teach about our country's culture and history—what they call Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). The total amount of reading material has been cut down significantly, from 29 texts to just 16, which are all now in a single book. The goal is to make learning more interesting and focused by giving equal importance to both Indian and foreign literature.

Key Changes and Features

• Replaces Old Books: 'Kaveri' takes the place of the previous textbooks, Beehive and Moments, which were used from 2006-07 to 2025-26.
• Prepared Under NCF-SE 2023: The new book follows the guidelines of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
• Equal Balance of Authors: The new edition achieves an equal balance between Indian and international authors.
• The previous editions had 15 out of 29 texts by international authors.
• Streamlined Curriculum: The total number of texts has been significantly reduced, making the subject more focused.
• The number of textbooks has been reduced from two to one.
• The total number of texts has been cut from 29 to 16.

Content of 'Kaveri'

The textbook features 16 texts, with an equal split between Indian and foreign authors.

• Indian Authors (8 texts):

• Sudha Murty (The book opens with a story from her collection How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories).
• Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel laureate).
• Subramania Bharati (Tamil poet).
• Temsula Ao (Naga writer).
• Mitra Phukan (Assamese novelist).
• Other notable Indian contributors.

• Foreign Authors (8 texts):

• David Roth (American poet).
• Charles Swain (English poet).
• Bryanna T. Perkins (Children’s writer).
• Robert Langley (Poet).
• Maya Anthony (Writer).
• Irene Chua (Singapore-based author).

• Special Features:

• An anonymous poem, Gifts of Grace: Honouring Our Vocations.
• The World of Limitless Possibilities, an interview-based piece highlighting Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik.

Alignment with NCF-SE 2023

The introduction of Kaveri signifies a major pedagogical shift in alignment with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. This framework emphasizes:

• Multilingualism: Promoting Indian languages and local contexts.
• Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS): Integrating India's historical, cultural, and intellectual heritage into the curriculum.
• Reduced Content Load: Streamlining the syllabus to encourage deeper understanding and critical thinking rather than rote memorization.

This transition from the older textbooks, Beehive and Moments, reflects NCERT’s commitment to modernizing the education system as envisioned by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.