NCERT releases Class 9 Kaveri English textbook on DIKSHA free for the 2026-27 session

NEW DELHI, May 9 — NCERT has released four new Class 9 textbooks — Kaveri (English), Ganita Manjari (Mathematics), Exploration (Science) and Sharda (Sanskrit) — for free download on the DIKSHA portal and ncert.nic.in, even as the council prints physical copies "on a war-footing" for the July 2026-27 reopening. Kaveri replaces the long-standing Beehive and Moments combination with a single integrated volume of 8 prose chapters and 8 poems.

For Class 9 English departments — and for every school principal still cleaning up Class 6 R3 paperwork on OASIS — the launch fixes the most urgent unknown of the new session: the textbook. Schools can now lock teacher reading lists, plan summer training, and place reprographic orders without waiting for the council's physical stock to land.

The press release dated May 1 said the new books are "aligned with the National Education Policy 2020" and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023, and that printed copies will reach schools "on a war-footing" before classes restart. Kaveri, named for one of India's sacred rivers, is the centrepiece of the rollout. The integrated volume drops the two-textbook structure of the old syllabus and pairs prose and poetry inside a single book, with Class 9 students reading 16 selections in total. Mathematics moves from the Mathematics-IX line to Ganita Manjari Part 1, Science is rebranded Exploration, and Sharda is the new Sanskrit textbook. A Social Science replacement has not yet been notified.

The Class 9 launch is the first in a multi-year curriculum reset. Class 1 to 8 textbooks were rolled out under the same NCF cycle through 2024 and 2025, and a Class 11 set is expected later in May. For CBSE-affiliated schools, the textbook change pairs with the third-language R3 push at Class 6 and the AI and Computational Thinking integration the board has mandated for Classes 9 and 10 — three curriculum shifts landing in the same session.

NCERT has said the Class 11 textbook list is next, with sample model question papers and competency frameworks following once distribution stabilises. The council will also issue a separate notification for R3 textbooks for the 22 scheduled Indian languages before July 1.

Source: AglaSem News, Educart. Original: NCERT press release, May 1.

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Modules this affects:

• Academics Management — link the new Class 9 textbook codes to subject offerings, teaching batches and lesson plans
• Library Management — catalogue the new Kaveri, Ganita Manjari and Exploration titles before the procurement window closes

For schools getting Class 9 ready:

• Subject offerings — bind the new textbook to the right class-section timetable
• Subject board codes — keep marksheet and admit-card subject lines aligned with NCERT's new naming
• Teaching batches — assign the right teacher to each Class 9 section under the new syllabus

Operational guides:

• Bulk update student records — re-tag the Class 9 cohort to the new subject codes in one pass

Earlier in this thread:

• CBSE rolls out AI and Computational Thinking for Classes 9 and 10
• CBSE Class 12: four new skill electives for 2026-27