Manish Sisodia inaugurates Virtual Mega Book Fair, 220 publishers participate with 8,000 books

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday inaugurated the first-ever 'Virtual Mega Book Fair' organized by the Delhi government for the government schools of the national capital via video conferencing.

As per an official statement from the Delhi Government, with the help of this online platform, Directorate of Education schools will be able to choose the best books for their libraries. "They will be able to place their orders online from the publishers and the books will be delivered to the schools," it stated.

On the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister said, ''It is for the first time in the country that all the schools of a state are participating in such a virtual book fair together. Our aim is to provide quality books to the children studying in government schools. The online platform of Virtual Mega Book Fair will play an important role in this direction and children will be able to access quality books.''

''It is ensured that every student and teacher participates in the book fair in Delhi's school through the use of technology. It seems utopian that any book that is bought for any school library is as per the choice and requirement of its students and teachers. This was not the case in Delhi till 2017, but now government schools in Delhi can buy books as per the requirement of their students and teachers," he added.

As per the Delhi government, a Scrutiny Committee decides whether the books published by a publisher are good, are useful for children, are required in a library, would help the students in pursuing their dreams, would guide the students in building a career and would act as their friends at various stages. After this listing, an offline book fair was organised by the Directorate where schools could buy books as per their requirement. This year also the Scrutiny Committee has prepared a list of 8,000 books. The IT Branch and the Library Branch of the Directorate of Education have together created a platform where schools can buy books according to the needs of their teachers and students through the Virtual Mega Book Fair online portal.

This year, the Delhi Government has allocated Rs 9 crore for 1,031 government schools in Delhi. Manish Sisodia said, ''8000 books from 220 publishers have been selected for this book fair. The books of these various publishers will be displayed on the website of the Directorate of Education from November 14 to December 1, so that the school can select the best books for its libraries."

( With inputs from ANI )

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