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‘Reduce import duty on newsprint’: Sushil Modi urges Centre to ‘revive’ industry
India is extremely reliant on newsprint import and is the largest importer globally, with 45% coming from Russia alone
The Russia-Ukraine crisis has massively impacted the newspaper industry in India, with Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday urging the central government to step in and revive the industry by scrapping import duty on newsprint, and also introduce a scheme to incentivise domestic production.
“India is extremely reliant on newsprint import and is the largest importer of newsprint globally, importing 45% from Russia alone,” he said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that “the Russia-Ukraine crisis and associated sanctions have stuck shipping containers of newsprint leading to supply shortages.”
He stressed that such disruptions have been happening frequently, such as the workers strike in Finland and truckers strike in Canada. Both countries are important sources of newsprint import for India.
HT reached out to the ministry of information and broadcasting, but did not receive a response immediately.
Modi highlighted how this translated into higher import costs for domestic newspaper firms, as newsprint amounts for 45-50% of the overall cost. Prices, he said, have risen from $450 per tonne to $950 per tonne. “As a consequence, the business has become increasingly uneconomical even loss-mounting. Domestic manufacturers are converting their mills to produce packaging material,” he said.
He urged the central government to focus on reviving the sector, which was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Most newspapers have stopped sending editions to rural areas where the demand is low as distribution costs are not being met. Newspapers empower citizen and are essential for democracy,” he said.
