the inaugural ceremony of the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair included Smt. Mamata Banerjee, Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal;

 

 Reported by Sanchita chatterjee Kolkata 22 Jan 2026 : The dignitaries present at the inaugural ceremony of the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair included Smt. Mamata Banerjee, Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal; Mariano Causino, Ambassador of Argentina to India; Gustavo Canzobre, renowned Argentinian author; Swapnamoy Chakraborty, prominent Bengali author; Biman Banerjee, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; Mr. Firhad Hakim, Mayor of Kolkata; Sujit Bose, Minister of Fire and Emergency Services, Government of West Bengal and MLA of Bidhannagar; Indranil Sen, Minister of Tourism, Government of West Bengal; Tridib Kumar Chatterjee, General Secretary, Publishers & Booksellers Guild; Mukesh, IPS, Police Commissioner, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate; Supratim Sarkar, ADG, South Bengal; Javed Shamim, Manoj Verma, CP, Kolkata; Rajiv Kumar, DGP; Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey, President, Publishers & Booksellers Guild; Dola Sen, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha; Krishna Chakraborty, Mayor of Bidhannagar; Chandrima Bhattacharya, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Land & Land Reforms, Refugee & Rehabilitation, Government of West Bengal; Snehasish Chakraborty, Minister of Transport; Sabyasachi Dutta, Chairman, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses the Kolkata Book Fair and felicitates author Swapnamoy Chakraborty. Photo: Sanchita Chatterjee/BS News Agency.

 At the inaugural ceremony, our Hon'ble Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee presented the "Lifetime Achievement Award 2026" worth ₹2,00,000/- to Shri Swapnamoy Chakraborty on behalf of the Publishers & Booksellers Guild.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee delivers a speech. Photo: Sanchita Chatterjee/BS News Agency.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude for being a part of the inaugural ceremony of the 49th Kolkata International Book Fair.  Nine books were launched at the event, including “SIR-26 e 26”, “Amar Railbela”, “Banglar Prakriti Maa”, “Mother Nature of Bengal Rhymes and Reflections” in Bengali, “Amader Para Amar Somadhan”, “Katha Bhandar Pratham Purba”, “Puro Bhumi Janaganer Seba”, and “Seba in Bengali”.

The Honourable Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, announced a grant of ₹10 crore for the creation of 'Boitirtha' (a literary pilgrimage site) at the book fair grounds by the 50th Kolkata International Book Fair in 2027.

Participation from approximately 20 countries, including Argentina, China, Ukraine, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Nepal, Peru, Costa Rica, and other Latin American countries.

Tridib Kr. Chatterjee, President of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, expressed gratitude to the Honourable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for providing a permanent book fair venue in Bidhannagar and for giving the place its own unique identity.