Reading gets expensive with closure of ‘Registered Book Post’ service

Speed Post rates to replace Book Post tariff

The Department of Posts abruptly discontinued its decades-old “Registered Book Post” service on December 18. The service was exclusively used to ship printed books and book packets, among other items, across India at nominal delivery charges.

The service enabled shipping books to the remotest places across the country, which is usually not the case with private delivery services. Shipping books through Registered Book Post has helped publications deliver books at competitive prices, thereby retaining the reading habits of avid readers.

“The move is under the new rules and regulations of the recently enacted Post Office Act, 2023. The new regulation subsumes book packets, and book packets containing printed books, among others, under the ‘Book Post’ category under the new rule. It will be charged slightly higher and will be on par with Speed Post, which is a part of the consolidation process,” said Ramchandra Jayabhaye, Post Master General, Pune region.

Publishers’ concerns

Parag Lonkar, convenor of All India Marathi Publishers Association, said, “In a year, Pune alone delivers over 25,000 books through the Book Post service. And this move done without consultation will disincentivise the already dwindling number of readers in India. We will jointly propose to the Department of Posts to reinstate the service.”

“Most of our orders come from rural areas where private delivery services are mostly unavailable, so our obvious option is through postal service,” said Abhijit Walimbe, a Pune-based independent book publisher. “We prefer the postal service because they deliver to the nook and corner of the country, offer online tracking, and in case undelivered, it is returned to us safely. This is not the case with every private delivery partner. So the affordability and reliability offered by India Post is unparalleled. But the scheme’s untimely closure will force us to choose alternate options that will cost 20-25 per cent more to deliver the same book,” Walimbe added.

According to the Department of Posts, India has the largest network in the world with over 1.5 lakh post offices of which 1.39 lakh are situated in rural areas. This wide network and low delivery charges offer an advantage over private courier services. “The closure of the dedicated service would adversely affect democratised knowledge transfer. And this closure is not just about increased costs; it is about widening the urban-rural knowledge gap,” Anurag added.