Amid complaints of bureaucratic delays and fears of censorship by the government, the Human Resource Development Ministry risks losing its ability to distribute International Standard Book Numbers to publishers in India, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. The International ISBN Agency, in a letter sent to Minister of State for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey on March 29, warned that it was “seriously considering” discontinuing the ministry’s position as the agency for issuing ISBNs in India owing to the increasing number of complaints, which has now reached “unacceptable levels”.

In April 2016, the HRD Ministry, which was headed by Smriti Irani at the time, had digitised the allotment of ISBNs – a step many publishers said slowed down the process of bringing out books in India. Earlier, Scroll.in had reported that the website was riddled with bugs and there was no phone number through which the Agency could be reached. Some publishers were left waiting for months for their ISBN numbers, having no clarity on the status of their application.

The new system has also raised concerns about censorship, with the ministry asking for details of every book before issuing ISBNs. Publishers, for example, are required to provide book jackets carrying synopses and blurbs from authors.

Every time a book is published, one of the key requirements is the ISBN, a unique 13-digit number given to books published around the world. The ISBN is generated by the International ISBN Agency, and is used by buyers to identify books. Even though the ISBN is not mandatory to publish a book, it has become an important tool as wholesalers, distributors and bookstores usually keep track of their volumes using these codes.

Currently, more than 150 registration agencies appointed by the International ISBN Agency provide ISBNs to publishers in over 200 countries. In India, this power rests with the Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Agency, under the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

Several publishing houses said on conditions of anonymity that ISBNs are now issued in lots of 10, rather than 100, after a wait of about three or four months. “Many of us have been surviving on our stock of ISBNs secured earlier. But we are running out. At this rate, the publishing industry in the country will face a serious crisis in two to three months,” a publisher was quoted as saying by the newspaper.