NEW DELHI: For the first time since its inception in 1972, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) will offer free entry to all visitors to enhance accessibility. The nine-day event will commence on Friday with a special focus on the armed forces and their valour showcased, right from Budgaon 1947 to Operation Sindoor. Over 20 lakh people are expected to visit the venue.
'Indian Military History: Valour and Wisdom @75' will be the central highlight of NDWBF, which will take place in halls two to six of Bharat Mandapam. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will inaugurate it, with Qatar set to be the Guest of Honour country and Spain the Focus country.
Milind Sudhakar Marathe, chairman NBT, in a press briefing on Thursday, said, "For the first time in the history of NBT, we are making entry to the fair absolutely free so that we can accommodate the maximum number of people from Delhi and around. It shows the commitment of NBT to make book reading accessible for all."
Over 1,000 publishers, authors and cultural institutions from 35 countries including Russia, Poland, France, Abu Dhabi, Iran, Kazakhstan, Chile and Hungary, will take part, apart from a 30-strong delegation from Japan.
Fair Director Yuvraj Malik said, “The Pavilion will be a 1,000 square metre immersive space honouring the courage, sacrifice and national-building role of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force since independence. The Arjun Tank, INSVikrant and LCA Tejas, tributes to 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. Sessions on major wars and military operations will take place during the nine days.”
Kumar Vikram, Joint Director of National Book Trust India, told TNIE, “The chiefs of the armed forces and the Defence Minister will be taking part in the event. The event began as a biennial affair in Delhi in 1972 and it has been organised as an annual affair since 2012. Only one fair was missed in 2022 due to COVID.”
Over 600 literary activities will be organised in which 1,000-plus speakers will take part. Smriti Irani, Hema Malini, Kailash Satyarthi, Ricky Kej, Jaya Kishori, Durjoy Dutta, Shalini Passi, and Shubhanshu Shukla figure among the big names.
An official release said, “For the first time, ten international book fair directors representing the Leipzig Book Fair, Bologna Children's Book Fair, Seoul International Book Fair, Tuyap Fairs and Exhibitions from Turkiye, Frankfurter Buchmesse, Book World Prague from Czech Republic, and the Gothenburg Book Fair from Sweden and more will participate in NDWBF 2026.”
A financial assistance programme for both Indian and foreign publishers to puruse translation of Indian books in foreign languages has been set up by the NBT, the release added.
Many interesting activities have been planned to engage children, including quizzes, art and craft, Vedic maths, theatre and storytelling.