200 publishers take part in Bangalore Book fair

Bangalore, Nov 11 (UNI) About 200 publishers displaying over 30 lakh books in 280 stalls was the highlight of the ten-day Bangalore Book Festival (BBF), which began at Palace grounds here.

Publishers from all parts of the country who brought out books in most of the Indian languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Urdu, have set up stalls at the festival, being held for the fifth year in succession. The exhibitors also include institutions like ISKCON, Mythical Society, Ramakrishna Ashram and Theosophical Society of India.

Speaking after the inauguration yesterday, Union Minister of State for Planning M V Rajashekaran advocated opening of libraries at the panchayat level across the country to help widen the knowledge society, which was limited to urban pockets.

Education in the 21st century had become highly technical and influential with the emergence of globalisation process. In such a scenario, it was vital for the Indian youth to gain globally competitive mind power. Book exhibitions like BBF would help create knowledge society and nation building, he added.

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