The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: India Post has discontinued the ‘Book Post’ service as of December 18, 2024, without consultation or warning to stakeholders, the Free Press Journal reported.
Earlier, customers could ship 5 kg of books for Rs 80 under the Registered Book Post (RBP) service, offering a much cheaper alternative to expensive courier services for book publishers.
The subsidised rates, meant to cultivate a reading culture, also extended to magazines and periodicals.
However, last week, this offering was removed from postal services without prior intimation to even India Post employees, the report said.
The steep price difference in RBP and registered parcels has left many in the publishing industry disappointed. For instance, sending a 1 kg package via RBP cost Rs 32, while the same weight through ‘registered parcel’ costs Rs 78. Similarly, for 2 kg, the rates are Rs 45 and Rs 116, and for 5 kg, Rs 80 and Rs 229, respectively.
The move has been accompanied with a 5% import duty on sample books – a first for a duty of this kind. The tax will be imposed on non-commercial books such as sample copies of translations of domestic works sent by foreign publishers.
Critics have said that these arbitrary decisions will prove detrimental to India’s commitment to literacy, education, and intellectual growth, the report said.