Kindle store opens in India

Amazon has launched its popular Kindle store in India. Now, readers can swap rupees for reads, as international bestsellers, classics and works by Indian and independent authors are a click and download away.

Book buffs around the country ought to be a happy lot right now.

Amazon has launched its popular Kindle store in India. Now, readers can swap rupees for reads, as international bestsellers, classics and works by Indian and independent authors are a click and download away. Also, fledgling writers will now have access to Kindle Direct Publishing to showcase their work and find interested parties.

"We are proud to launch this new store for Indian customers. It offers book purchases in rupees and the ability to buy and read the works of many great Indian authors," Russ Grandinetti, vice-president of Kindle Content, said in a statement. Also, as part of its foray into India, the company has roped in Croma to retail its R6,999 Kindle e-reader.

While evergreen classics like Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are available for free in the store, there is also a separate section dedicated to best-selling Kindle books and even Chetan Bhagat's works. But the best news is the introduction of a section dedicated to 100 books worth R100 or less. "The website will offer serious competition to India's online book sellers," says Suverna Karnik, 23, a lawyer and avid reader.

However, there are a few drawbacks. You cannot purchase newspapers and magazine subscriptions. Also, there is no news on whether the Owners' Lending Library, through which users can choose to borrow e-books for free, will be launched here.

Get them published

Thanks to the launch of Kindle Direct Publishing, amateur and independent Indian authors and publishers can now make their works available to readers around the world and set India-specific prices to them.

They would also receive royalty in Indian rupees. However, the downside is that Amazon will only pay authors a 35 per cent royalty for books sold in the Indian Kindle store.

For more information, visit kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help for details.