Additional Secretary I & B Ministry says government will play an enabling role in the Media & Entertainment sector
The Additional Secretary in the Information & Broadcasting Ministry Shri J S Mathur has said that these are exciting times to be in Media & Entertainment(M & E) industry and government will try to echo the sentiment raised from various stakeholders in the industry while playing the enabling role in the sector. Speaking at the inaugural function of FICCI FRAMES 2015 in Mumbai he said adoption of newer technologies and platforms is creating challenges in the sector and there are issues of newer business models and content diversification too. Lots of things have started rolling out and things would become more enabling with the advent of GST soon. Mr Mathur said Under Digital India the rollout of Phase 3 and 4 in cable digitisation in the entire country is a major development and we have to ensure that the consumers gets the best product and each stakeholder gets its due in the process. Emphasizing on the radio expansion process he said the first tranche of e-auction for phase 3 rollout of FM radio has started and 135 new channels would be started under it and in the next phase 1000 more channels would get added. Mathur added that Animation and Gaming sector had a lot of scope and making India an important Filming destination are very much on the government agenda which he said was moving promptly in taking decisions.
Senior Film Maker and Co-Chair FICCI Entertainment Committee Ramesh Sippy said M & E industry is growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate CAGR of 11.8 percent. He listed the various issues on which progress has been made-co production treaty with China, Korea and starting of a kids channel by Prasar Bharti .He said efforts are on to make India a teleporting hub as our own hub is needed.
CEO & MD Tata Sky, Shri Harit Nagpal said rules for setting up business in M & E sector are in place. But to follow them requires government permission. This should be done away with.
The 2015 FICCI-KPMG Report was released by J S Mathur and Amir Khan at the function.Veteran Film personality and Chairman FICCI South Kamal Haasan said the industry is driven by content and it cannot afford to be complacent. He said the industry is paranoid about new technology being introduced and emphasized on bringing in more transparency in the industry.
At a dialogue with a moderator senior film Actor Amir Khan said he tends to get lost in his stories and creative side of his work and is totally at a loss to understand the business side of the productions. Amir Khan also said that while creative people are there to entertain, the possibility of being able to bring dynamic change in the society should be explored.
