The 47th Calcutta International Book Fair kicked off on Thursday with an opening ceremony held at the Central Park Book Fair premises around 4 pm. The event, graced by the Chief Minister as the chief guest, witnessed his visit to various book stalls where he engaged with vendors. Special guests included British High Commissioner Alex Ellis CMG, British Council of India Director Alison Barrett MBE, and author Vani Basu.
During the inauguration, the Chief Minister was honored with the Ramprasad Goenka CESC Srishti Samman. The central theme of this year's book fair revolves around Britain, and concurrently, the Kolkata Book Fair was organized for the fourth time, aligning with the British theme.