India’s rich literary depth, growing global relevance and strong translation potential came into focus at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2026, as Claudia Kaiser, Vice President of the Frankfurt Book Fair, highlighted the country’s cultural diversity, strong reader engagement and expanding role in the global publishing ecosystem.
Speaking on the sidelines of the New Delhi Rights Table (NDRT), a key business-to-business initiative of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2026, Kaiser said India stands out for its cultural depth, diversity of voices and strong reader engagement, describing the country as “extremely enriching” for global publishing conversations.
“India has such a rich culture and such a rich literature that there are immense opportunities for Indian works to be translated into other languages,” she said, underlining the growing international interest in Indian literature.
Highlighting the importance of institutional support, Kaise noted that publishing remains a high-risk business globally, particularly in the area of translation rights. Financial subsidy programmes, she said, play a critical role in enabling publishers to invest in new voices and cross-border exchanges.
“Publishers need some form of support to take the risk of buying rights and paying for translations. Many countries, including Germany, have such systems, and they are extremely important,” she noted.
While acknowledging the growth of digital formats, Kaise stressed that printed books continue to hold their relevance worldwide.
“Printed books will always be there, even as digital products grow. Books offer a depth of experience that few other media can match,” she said.
Sharing her message for young readers, Kaise emphasised the transformative power of reading.
“Books have the potential to change lives and allow readers to step into another reality, not for a few hours, but for days,” she said.
Also, at the fair Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi during a book launch called for greater emphasis on what he described as the “compassion quotient” in public life, education and workplaces, arguing that empathy must be valued as highly as intelligence in shaping a humane society.
Satyarthi was speaking in the context of his forthcoming book, Karuna: The Power of Compassion, which was introduced to readers at the fair. Visitors were handed booklets outlining the book’s central ideas, and the session drew a large audience, particularly young readers and students.
During the interaction, Satyarthi shared personal experiences from his life and from his autobiography Diyaslai. The event had a visible emotional impact on children in attendance.
