Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Hon’ble Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India said that India was experiencing significant increase in connectivity and that his government was introducing a number of measures to support India’s media and entertainment industry. He was speaking at a seminar on India – Entertainment as Soft Power at the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Services Export Promotion Council at the India Expo Center and Mart in Greater Noida.
The Minister gave some numbers to show that content from the media and entertainment industry is now reaching every corner of the country. With 100 crore cell phone users, 25 per cent of which are smart phones, the entire country is now covered by the telecom network. Internet use is also spreading to the interiors with 50,000 panchayats now having Internet access. There are 857 television channels and 168 million households have access to television content. “Over a thousand films are being produced as well as an amazing number of videos”’ he said.
He said that the ‘Make in India’ vision of increasing production within India is already happening in the media and entertainment industry with a large amount of content being produced. The government is taking various measures to support this trend and be a facilitator for the industry. For example, it is setting up a centre for excellence in animation and gaming in Maharashtra. Professionals in the media and entertainment industry need to be skilled and there is an opportunity for skill development centres to come up across the country.
Among other measures being contemplated by the government, he said highlighted the following: getting visas for film-making are to be made easier, duties on film-making equipment are to be brought down and issues related to clearances are being addressed. In order to support better content, the government is considering outsourcing the content for Doordarshan, providing a dedicated channel for showing documentaries and providing funds to Indian movies for participating in foreign film festivals.
He concluded by saying that there is a “huge thirst for good content” among the people and the industry needs to invest in skills in order to improve quality. Earlier, the welcome address was delivered by Mr. Sudhanshu Vats, Chairman, CII National Committee on Media & Entertainment and Group CEO, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. He said that with India’s rich history in story-telling and content generation, the potential for the Indian media & entertainment industry is enormous. There is a need for the content to be more universal so that foreign buyers are attracted to Indian content.
Greater Noida, UP
21 April 2016