New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday inaugurated New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) 2026, calling it a grand celebration of India’s robust and vibrant reading culture.

Pradhan said that the theme of the Book Fair, ‘Indian Military History: Valour and Wisdom@75’, and the participation of countries such as Qatar and Spain, have further enhanced the significance of the cultural and literary event.

During the event, Pradhan released the book ‘The Saga of Kudopali: The Unsung Story of 1857’, including in Bangla, Asamiya, Punjabi, Malayalam, Urdu and Marathi. A video on the Saga of Kudopali was also screened.

The Minister said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the culture of reading into a people’s movement, and added that the Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ is not limited to infrastructure or technology, but is deeply rooted in building an aware, thoughtful and knowledge-driven generation that recognises knowledge as the foundation of nation-building.

He also congratulated NBT India and extended his best wishes for the successful organisation of the Book Fair.

He said that the event is infusing new energy into the country’s reading culture through books and dialogue.

Minister of Culture of Qatar, Abdulrahman Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Al Thani, Minister of Culture of Spain, Ernest Urtasun Domenech; Director General of Books, Ministry of Culture, Spain, Maria Jose Galvez; Secretary, Higher Education, Vineet Joshi; Chaiman, NBT, Milind Sudhakar Marathe, Director, NBT Yuvraj Malik, distinguished guests from Qatar and Spain and senior officials of the Ministry attended the event.

The Union Minister said that NDWBF 2026, the world’s largest B2C book fair, is a confluence of ideas.

Ernest Urtasun Domenech, Minister for Culture of Spain, highlighted Spain’s participation during the Spain–India Dual Year 2026, noting that the Fair offers a valuable opportunity to promote Spanish writers in India, where interest in the Spanish language and literature continues to grow. He recalled the historic literary connection between Juan Ramon Jimenez and Rabindranath Tagore.

The Minister of Culture, State of Qatar, said his country’s participation reflects the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries and reaffirmed the role of culture and knowledge as foundations for people-to-people ties and nation-building.

The world’s biggest B2C book fair, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF), is being organised by the National Book Trust (NBT), India, under the Ministry of Education from January 10–18 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, and entry to the book fair has been made free for the first time.

The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) is the co-organiser of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2026. The nine-day book fair will bring together 1,000-plus publishers from over 35 countries, host 600-plus events with 1,000-plus speakers, and is expected to attract over 2 million visitors.

–IANS

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