Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting assured the media and entertainment (M&E) industry that the government policies would be supportive and calibrated to enhance the modernization and monetization of the sector. “In phase 11 of the auction of the frequencies for the radio, there was no provision for broadcasting news. This was changed during the phase 111 auction, when private radio was allowed to broadcast the news of the All India Radio for a specified time,” he said, hinting that the government was alive to the demand of the private broadcasters to have news bulletins.
The Minister also released the CII-BCG Media and Entertainment Vision 2020 Report.
The Minister was addressing the 4th edition of the CII Big Picture Summit 2015 today in New Delhi. He mentioned that a lot of initiatives were being taken by the government to support the M&E industry in the country, such as channelizing more advertisements to the digital media like You Tube, outsourcing some of the creative works of Doordarshan and All India Radio to the industry. More such steps would be taken in due course. In this regard, he mentioned that plans are underway to revamp the terrestrial broadcast of DD to couple it with internet and DTH so that there would be opportunities for making local programs based on events happening in smaller towns and rural areas. This would also give a boost to creation of contents, which have local flavor and relevance.
Acknowledging the industry demand that the monetization of the M&E segment had not kept pace with the requirements, the Mr. Rathore disclosed that the government had proposed to set up a university to develop soft skills needed for the industry. This university would specialize in skilling students in areas like gaming, animation and other avenues of creative pursuits relevant to the industry. He wanted industry to take a lead in this endeavor and create centers of excellence, which would enable the M&E industry to reach US$ 100 billion by 2025. Also, industry support is needed for improving the content and appeal of the programs and for training the media professionals.
Responding to a suggestion made by the industry to bring down high incidence of tax levied on the M&E industry, the Minister said that the Good and services Tax (GST), which the Government was wanting to enact would have subsumed various taxes incidental on the industry. He hoped that the bill would be passed soon in the interest of the nation.
Mr Rathore observed that the Government was keen to create a single window clearance for shooting films in India which could enhance the monetization and profitability of the industry. He wanted CII to come out with a plan for creating a dynamic eco system for the film industry to flourish. At the same time, he said that inadequate number of cinema halls in India as compared to in countries like the US and China could be more to do with real estate prices.
Mr J S Mathur, Special Secretary, Ministry of I&B, said that the process of digitization in the M&E sector was at a higher pace and would show results in the coming years. He was of the opinion that smart phones which could carry large quantum of data including films, news bulletins etc. would redefine the digital space in India. He said that the Government was in the process of finalizing the draft of the Intellectual Property Rights ( IPR) which would enable more and more people to invest in India in various segments like content creation, production, animation, gaming etc.
Mr Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati, opined that a consortium approach should be followed by the industry and the Government to promote the convergence in the M&E industry to realize its potentials. He suggested that a shared approach should be there among the players to make use of the vast infrastructure of the government through innovative schemes that would put to use smart phones as carriers of innovative contents.
Mr Sudhanshu Vats, Chairman, CII National Committee on Media and Entertainment and Group CEO, Viocom 18 Media Pvt Ltd, has pitched for easing of doing business and greater application of convergence of technology to tap the potentials of the industry. Monetization of the industry can be enhanced through proper government support to the industry.
Narrating the problems being faced by the M&E sector, Mr Sanjay Gupta, COO, Star India, said that bandwidth problems, high cost, high taxes etc were adversely affecting the growth of M&E industry. He wanted a supportive policy regime to help the industry reach US$ 100 billion mark by 2025.
New Delhi
19th October 2015