Life’s truest companions: Delhi CM at 29th Book Fair | Latest News Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the 29th Delhi Book Fair 2025 on Wednesday at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan. This year’s theme is “The Future of Multilingual India”, and the event is being held from August 6 to 10, in collaboration with the Delhi government. The event will be open to the public from 10 AM to 7 PM daily, with no entry cost.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during the 29th Delhi Book Fair at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI)

The CM described the fair to be an emotional experience and said, “Books are life’s truest and most selfless companions. They ask for nothing and offer everything. This fair is a celebration of that timeless friendship.”

She urged people to read more, saying that books are not merely collections of printed pages; they are guiding lights that shape generations.

Delhi minister for art, culture, and languages Kapil Mishra was the guest of honour and praised the book fair for being an intersection of creativity, knowledge, and expression. He proposed that future editions of the fair be held as complete literary festivals, and have platforms for authors, poets, students, and literature enthusiasts to engage and collaborate with each other.

This year’s edition also includes the 25th Stationery Fair and the 9th Office Automation and Corporate Gifts Fair.

Meanwhile, the publishers said the fair is not the same as it used to be. “Readers have decreased, there is less advertisement and costs are higher. We’ve been coming here for 15 years, but have been running losses for last 4 times,” said Hemant Madaan, who owns bookshops across the city. “We’ve set up multiple stalls here, and that also cost us around ₹7 lakhs,” he added.

Smaller publishers found the event to be beneficial. “I’ve been coming here for 10 years. My business has grown a lot due to this event,” said Sanjay Jain, the owner of Vidhi book center in Ahmedabad.

Visitors said that they had not been able to spot books in languages other than Hindi or English. “There is a decent collection, but the books should be sorted better,” said a visitor. “

Another visitor said, “It’s a good place to build your collection. This was my first time attending the fair, and I will be coming back next time.”

India Trade Promotion Organisation chairman Pradeep Singh Kharola, Federation of Indian Publishers president Naveen Gupta, and senior government officials were also present at the event.

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