President Draupadi Murmu inaugurated the fair on Saturday, describing reading books as a "transformative experience," stressing it is much more than merely a hobby. The theme of this year’s fair is ‘Republic@75’, which highlights the journey of India as a Republic during the last 75 years.

Authors and speakers from 50 countries, including France, Qatar, Spain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Columbia are participating in the fair.

Also, several literature festivals, including 'Brahmaputra Literature Festival', 'Prabhat Prakashan', 'Bharat Literature Festival', 'Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival', 'Penguin Dialogues' and the 'Great Indian Book Tour' are being held parallelly as part of the fair.

(L-R) Pankaj Tripathi, Pushpesh Pant and Pankaj Jha speaking at Bharat Literature Festival as part of the World Book Fair (Pics: Instagram/@bharatliteraturefestival)

Actor Pankaj Tripathi, food critic Pushpesh Pant, senior politician Shashi Tharoor, Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, poet Kumar Vishwas, and filmmaker Prakash Jha are among the prominent speakers from diverse fields such as literature, governance, technology, art, and cinema, participating in the fair.

Bharat Mandapam (File Pic/PTI)

Dates: February 1 to 9, 2025 (Closed on February 5 due to Delhi Election)

Timings: 11 AM to 8 PM

Venue: Halls 2-6, Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan

One can buy tickets through National Book Trust official website or offline at the venue. The event has free entry for students in school uniform and senior citizens.

(With inputs from PTI)