In a surprising move, India Post discontinued the Registered Book Post (RBP) on December 18, a decision that has left several publishers and readers in dismay.

It is being reported that the service was abruptly taken off the software shocking even the postal employees.

Registered Book Post (RBP) would provide subsidized shipping rates allowing 5 kg of books to be shipped for a mere price of Rs 80.

With RBP’s discontinuation, book lovers will be forced to use the ‘Registered Parcel’ service under which sending one kg of books costs Rs 78 as compared to Rs 32. Sending 2 kgs of books now costs Rs 116 and 5 kgs costs Rs 229 as compared to earlier Rs 45 and Rs 80 respectively.

These changes in services are a result of the Post Office Act, of 2023 which came into effect on June 18, replacing the Indian Post Office Act, of 1898.

Another policy change that puts the book lovers community’s interests at stake is the decision to levy a 5 per cent import duty on non-commercial sample copies. This means publications like sample translations of domestic work sent by foreign publishers will also have an import duty attached to them.

Publishers have the option of using private courier services which offer prices on par with the India Post. However, due to less network built and reliability, people think twice about choosing the option.

The move to discontinue the service contributes to the disintegration of an already fragile reading community in India and poses a threat to education, literacy and knowledge dissemination.