The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize will be awarded for the year 2021 and 2022 together, organiser and publisher Peter Bundalo said.

The annual award, won by Journalist-author Raj Kamal Jha in 2020 for his novel "The City and The Sea", will now be held for both the years in New Delhi in October, 2022, he informed.

The disruption has affected not only the publishing and book industry whose participation in the nominations was thus, enormously and regrettably curbed, but also the Tagore Prize organization, its staff, and its judging board," said a statement quoting Bundalo, founder of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize.

"We feel a vast responsibility toward our nominees and Tagore Prize community, and by merging Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2021 with 2022 we are reinforcing our commitment to our primary purpose, to maintain our artistic and literary standards high and uncompromised at any cost," he added.

In 2020, due to the Covid-19 induced global economic crisis the prize money was reduced to half -- from USD 10,000 to USD 5,000. It was founded in 2018 by Bundalo as a platform for world peace, literature, art, education and human rights.

Besides making the announcement for the merger, the US-based publisher also invited entries for both the years.

Over the course of the coming months and with due regard to Covid-19 health and safety regulations, possibility will be explored for hosting of the annual ceremony in person in New Delhi in October 2022, he added.

Notably, the award also recognises works towards human rights and world peace with the Social Achievement Prize.

The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for Social Achievement 2020 was conferred to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the late Sultan of Oman and The People of Oman, and renowned Indian choreographer Sandip Soparrkar for his contribution to the betterment of society through his initiative "Dance for a Cause".