The Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector had a lot to cheer about as Union Information & Broadcasting Minister and Youth Affairs & Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Thursday reiterated the government’s support for the sector. Delivering the Valedictory Address at the CII Dakshin South India Media & Entertainment Summit -2023 in Chennai, Thakur stated, “The media and entertainment sector in India is at an inflection point and as the industry’s partner and facilitator, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry continues to undertake efforts to grow the sector to reach the target of US $70 billion by the year 2030 from its current size of US $30 billion as of today. Digital technology, specifically gaming, OTT and digital advertising have a critical role to play as drivers and are expected to contribute to 2/3rd of this growth.”
Addressing the long-standing concerns of the M&E sector on piracy, Thakur was confident that the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, will be passed by both the houses of the parliament by this August-end. The Bill, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2019, was sent to the standing committee for recommendation.
He says, “Keeping in mind the demands of the stakeholders in the industry, we have come up with the Cinematograph Act 2023 as per the best international practices to keep a check on piracy. I am sure the industry will be very happy with the new legislation. Piracy is a huge problem globally and locally with estimates that the M&E sector alone suffers US $2.3 billion losses every year.” He added, “I am sure that in the upcoming session - by the end of August - the Cinematograph Act 2023 will be passed in both houses of the parliament.”
The Union Cabinet approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, on Wednesday, which seeks to introduce more categories for film certification and enforce penal provision to prevent film piracy.
Thakur also highlighted that by bringing together various divisions - The Films Division of India, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archive Of India, Children Film Society, India – under the umbrella of National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), the ministry’s cinematic arm will build better convergence and resource utilisation.
He also threw light on the underserved Indian market, when it came to cinema halls, and spoke of the need for the government at the state and Centre to work with the industry to add more cinema screens in the country. Drawing attention to the recent successes – RRR, K.G.F: Chapter 2, Kantara and The Elephant Whisperers – Thakur said, “The country needs more films from the South to be seen in other parts of the country. There is nothing called regional now, if the content is powerful, it has the power to travel nationally and internally.”
Thakur further stated that there is a need to introduce new skill development courses to attract new talent to the industry and produce content matching international standards. “We would like to take this opportunity to invite partners from the industry to join hands with the government and undertake skill development initiatives across the country,” he said.
Looking ahead, he spoke about the initiatives taken by the government to invite filmmakers from across the world to come to India and collaborate with Indian filmmakers. He says, “The idea is to support and grow innovation and production capabilities of our people so that the Indian film industry can expand beyond borders and cause ripples in world cinema.” He continues, “The Indian film industry produces the highest number of films in the world and we should work together for India to become the content hub of the world.”