World Book Fair begins in New Delhi; to showcase International Disability Film Festival alongside

The nine-day long New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) began at Pragati Maidan in the national capital on Saturday. This year, the theme revolves around Book for 'Readers with Special Needs'. The idea behind the theme is to emphasise on inclusive learning which includes audio, silent tactile and braille books for the specially-abled. 

Inaugurating the fair, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said, “Books and culture complement each other. Despite the growing digitalization, the demand for books has not decreased. The culture of reading in India is increasing day by day. This is the beauty of Indian culture."

This year's Guest of Honour at the Book Fair is Sharjah. 

The main theme pavilion emphasised on the reading needs of Children and held an exclusive exhibition of 500 books including Braille books, audio books, silent books, tactile books, integrated print-Braille books, books for differently-abled, children with sight or ear impairment, austistic kids, children/readers with ADHD and behavioural/psychological problems/anxieties. 

In addition, for the first time, an International Disability Film Festival is being organized at the New Delhi World Book Fair, where over 45 documentaries from 27 countries will be screened every day 2 to 4 pm.

Nearly 700 publishers are participating this year in the fair. Over 1300 stalls have been put up. A calendar was also launched during the first day of the event based on the theme `Towards inclusive Learning `.

At the end of the inaugural session, a book, written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi "Exam Warriors" was gifted to the guest of honour by Javadekar. 

Price of the tickets has been reduced this year while there will be free entry for children below 14 years, senior citizens and differently-abled. Tickets will be available online, at Pragati Maidan gate number 1 and 10 and selected metro stations.