I&B Ministry

MIB issues SOPs for cinema halls

Published

5 years ago

October 6, 2020

NEW DELHI: After keeping industry stakeholders on tenterhooks for months, the ministry of information & broadcasting last week announced the opening of theatres across India from 15 October. As part of the government’s Unlock 5.0 plan, cinema halls will operate at 50 per cent seating capacity. Stakeholders welcomed the decision and look forward to reviving the business in the face of persistent challenges.

Today, the ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) shared SoPs for the exhibition industry to prevent the spread of Covid2019. The ministry has clearly stated that movies will not be showcased at theatres in containment zones; film exhibition activities through cinemas/theatres/multiplexes shall be governed in accordance with pre-existing guidelines issued by the MHA and health ministry. In addition, states and UTs can propose extra measures as per their field assessment.

Cinema halls to reopen from 15th October
To operate with 50% occupancy
Only packed food to be allowed
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Proper ventilation and AC temperature in the range of 24 to 30 degree Celsius
SOP for exhibition of films pic.twitter.com/cFDwAZMA3Z
— PIB India (@PIB_India) October 6, 2020

SOPs related to Exhibition of films

General Guidelines

The generic measures include public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid2019. These measures need to be observed by everyone (workers and visitors) at all times.

These include:

· Adequate physical distancing of at least 6 feet to be followed outside the auditoriums, common areas and waiting areas at all times.

· Use of face covers/masks to be made mandatory at all times.

· Availability of hand sanitizers, preferably in the touch-free mode, at entry and exit points as well as common areas within the premises.

· Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one’s mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly.

· Self-monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest to state and district helpline.

· Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.

· Installation and use of Aarogya Setu app shall be advised to all.

Entry and Exit Points

· Thermal screening of visitors/staff is to be carried out at entry points. Only asymptomatic individuals shall be allowed to enter the premises.

· Provisions for hand sanitization should be made available at all entry points and in work areas.

· Designated queue markers shall be made available for entry and exit of the audience from the auditorium and the premises.

· Exit should be done in a staggered row-wise manner to avoid crowding.

· Sufficient time interval between successive screenings on a single screen as well as on various screens in a multiplex shall be provided to ensure row-wise staggered entry and exit of the audience.

Seating Arrangements

· The occupancy of the cinemas/theatres/multiplexes shall not be more than 50 per cent of their total seating capacity.

· Seating arrangement inside the auditorium of the cinemas/theatres/multiplexes to be made in such a way that adequate physical distancing is maintained.

· Seats that are “Not to be occupied” shall be marked as such during booking (for both online booking and at the box office sale of tickets).

(Note: The “Not to be occupied” seats inside cinemas/theatres/multiplexes should either be taped or marked with fluorescent markers to prevent people from occupying these seats so as to ensure adequate physical distancing at all times.)

Physical Distancing Norms

· Proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises—duly following physical distancing norms shall be ensured.

· Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining physical distancing norms.

· Efforts shall be made to avoid overcrowding in the common areas, lobbies and washrooms during the intermission. Audience may be encouraged to avoid movement during the intermission. Longer intermissions may be used to allow audience seated in different rows of the auditorium to move in a staggered manner.

Staggered Show Timings at Multiplexes

· Staggered show timings shall be followed for multiple screens to avoid crowding.

· The show commencement time, intermission period and finish time of a show at any screen shall not overlap with the commencement time, intermission period or finish time of a show at any other screen in a multiplex.

Booking and Payments

· Digital no-contact transactions should be the most preferred mode for issue/verification/payments for tickets, food, and beverages, etc. by using online bookings, use of e-wallets, QR code scanners, etc.

· Contact number shall be taken at the time of booking of tickets to facilitate contact tracing.

· The purchase of tickets at the box office shall be open throughout the day and advance booking shall be allowed to avoid crowding at the sale counters.

· Sufficient number of counters at the box office shall be opened with adequate physical distancing norms, to prevent crowding during physical booking of tickets.

· Floor markers shall be used for physical distancing during queue management at the box office.

Sanitization of the Premises

· Frequent sanitization of the entire premises, common facilities, and all points which come into human contact, e.g. handles, railings, etc. shall be ensured.

· The cinemas/theatres/multiplexes auditorium shall be sanitized after every screening.

· Regular cleaning and disinfection of the box office, food and beverage areas, employee and staff lockers, toilets, public areas, and back-office areas shall be ensured.

· Measures for the safety of sanitization staff such as adequate provisions for rational use of gloves, boots, masks, PPE, etc. shall be undertaken.

· Disinfection of the premises to be taken up if any person is found positive.

Staff Related Measures

· Wearing of face cover for staff is mandatory at all workplaces and adequate stock of such face covers should be made available.

· All employees who are at higher risk, i.e., older employees, pregnant employees, employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public.

· With a view to ensure safety at the workplace, employers on best-effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu app is installed and updated by all employees their mobile phones.

· Communication and training of the staff on precautions related to COVID-19, respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, etc. shall be carried out.

· Self-monitoring of health by all employees/staff and reporting any illness at the earliest shall be ensured.

Public Awareness

· Do’s and don’ts shall be communicated at prominent access points: Online sale points, digital tickets, public areas like lobbies, washrooms, etc.

· Public Service Announcements on wearing mask, observing physical distancing and maintaining hand hygiene as well as specific announcements on the precautions and measures to be followed within and outside the premises shall be made before the screening, during intermission and at the end of the screening.

· Provisions must be made for display of Posters/standees/AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 prominently outside and inside of the venues.

Air-Conditioning/Cooling

For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which, inter alia, emphasizes the following:

· Temperature Setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30°C.

· Relative humidity should be in the range of 40-70 per cent.

· Re-circulation of air to be avoided to the extent possible.

· In-take of fresh air should be as much as possible.

· Cross ventilation should be adequate.

Anti-stigma Behaviour

COVID-19 related stigmatization or unruly behaviour shall be dealt with strictly by coordination between the auditorium manager(s) and the local authorities.

Food and Beverage Area

· Show timings in the cinema halls to be staggered to ensure that intervals of different shows do not occur simultaneously.

· Customers shall be encouraged to use cinema apps/QR codes, etc. for ordering food as much as possible.

· Multiple sale counters in food and beverage area be made available wherever possible.

· One line systems to be followed using floor stickers to maintain physical distancing at every sale counter.

· Only packaged food and beverages shall be allowed.

· Delivery of food and beverage inside the hall/auditorium shall be prohibited.

· Management shall ensure observance of physical distancing and preventing crowds in the food and beverages area.

· Safe disposal of the food and beverage waste shall be ensured by the management of the premises.

The national directives for Covid2019 management and the relevant guidelines issued by the ministry of information & broadcasting, ministry of Health & Family Welfare, state governments, etc. shall be strictly complied with during all activities and operations.

I&B Ministry

I&B’s 2025 report card: Lights, camera, action — and Rs 4,334 crore

Published

1 month ago

January 1, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: If 2025 was India’s year to make waves, the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) was its chief surfboard maker. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s call to “create in India, create for the world” wasn’t just ministerial hot air—it triggered a tsunami of creative dealmaking that swept from Melbourne to Madrid, generating Rs 4,334 crores in potential business discussions and putting Indian creators on every continent’s radar.

The centrepiece was Waves 2025, the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, which drew over 90 countries, 10,000 delegates, and roughly 1 lakh punters through its doors. Modi himself dropped by to glad-hand young creators, describing the event as a “wave of culture, creativity and universal connectivity”—and for once, the hyperbole wasn’t entirely unwarranted.

The summit’s CreatoSphere platform, which sounds like something from a sci-fi novel but is actually a hub for film, VFX, animation, gaming, and digital media, launched the Create in India Challenges. Season one attracted over 1 lakh entries from more than 60 countries across 33 categories. Winners weren’t just handed certificates and sent packing—they performed at Melbourne, exhibited at Tokyo Game Show, and pitched at Toronto International Film Festival. I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnav handed out gongs to 150 creators, cementing the government’s commitment to nurturing what it calls the “creative economy.”

WaveX, the startup arm, proved equally industrious. It coaxed over 200 startups into its embrace, enabled 30 to pitch to Microsoft, Amazon, and Lumikai, and somehow got two of its charges—VYGR News and VIVA Technologies—onto Shark Tank India, where they presumably dodged the usual mauling. The initiative’s KalaaSetu and BhashaSetu challenges, focused on AI-driven video generation and real-time translation respectively, attracted over 100 startups and picked ten for collaboration with government media units.

Waves Bazaar, the “craft-to-commerce” global e-marketplace, went on a roadshow between August and December, hitting 12 international events across four continents and four domestic jamborees. The numbers are eye-watering: over 9,000 B2B meetings, 10 memoranda of understanding signed, three more proposed, and the launch of creative corridors with Japan, Korea, and Australia. The ministry claims Rs 4,334 crores in potential deals—potential being the operative word, though in India’s booming content market, optimism often precedes reality by only a few quarters.

On the bricks-and-mortar front, the Indian Institute of Creative Technology opened its temporary Mumbai campus in July with Rs 391.15 crores in budgetary support. The public-private partnership with Ficci and CII has enrolled over 100 students across 18 courses, incubated eight startups, and signed memoranda with Google, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and WPP—a who’s who of tech giants keen to tap India’s creative reserves. A permanent 10 acre campus at Film City, Goregaon, complete with an immersive AR/VR/XR studio, is in the works.

Elsewhere, the ministry set up a Live Events Development Cell to position India’s concert economy as a growth driver. A single-window clearance system is being built on the India Cine Hub platform to expedite permissions for fire, traffic, and municipal approvals—addressing the red-tape nightmares that have long plagued event organisers. Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial committee is tackling digital piracy, that perennial thorn in the creative economy’s side.

State broadcaster Doordarshan snagged the Election Commission’s media award for voter awareness during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, presented by the president on National Voters’ Day. Community radio added 22 new stations, bringing the total to 551, with workshops and a national sammelan held during Waves to strengthen local broadcasting.

The 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa screened over 240 films from 81 countries, threw in the country’s first AI Film Festival, and staged a grand parade through Panaji that turned the event into a street-level celebration. The accompanying Waves Film Bazaar drew over 2,500 delegates from 40-plus countries and showcased 320 projects—making it one of South Asia’s largest film markets.

The Central Board of Film Certification modernised too, launching a multilingual certification module that allows multiple language versions under a single application, and mandating 50 per cent women’s participation on examining and revising committees. Digital signatures replaced wet ink, and certificates became downloadable—small victories in the fight against bureaucratic inertia.

India’s I&B ministry ended 2025 having turned content creation into something resembling an industrial policy. Whether Rs 4,334 crores in “potential” business materialises remains to be seen, but the ministry has built the infrastructure, corralled the startups, and put Indian creators on international stages. As Modi might say, the wave has been ridden. Now comes the hard part: keeping the momentum going when the cameras stop rolling.

I&B Ministry

Centre drafts OTT rules to boost access for hearing disabled

Published

2 months ago

December 12, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: The Centre has inched closer to making India’s streaming universe easier to watch, hear and enjoy for everyone. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has released draft guidelines that aim to standardise accessibility on OTT platforms, ensuring that viewers with hearing and visual impairments are no longer left out of the country’s digital entertainment boom.

Issued on 7 October and now open for public consultation, the draft rules arrive with constitutional and global backing. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan told the Rajya Sabha that the framework draws from Article 14, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. It also mirrors the Code of Ethics under the IT Rules, 2021.

At the heart of the proposal is a two-phase rollout of mandatory accessibility tools such as same-language closed captions and audio descriptions. The ministry said penalties and enforcement steps will be shaped after the consultation, but compliance will be tracked through progressive targets for OTT content libraries.

Parliament was also reminded that the broadcast sector has walked this path before. In 2019, the government notified accessibility standards for television programming, starting with Prasar Bharati and eventually extending them to private broadcasters.

With OTT viewership climbing across urban and small-town India, the draft rules attempt to bring streaming giants in step with a wider vision of inclusive media. The government hopes the move will help millions of Indians with disabilities press play without barriers.

I&B Ministry

News broadcasters push back as MIB’s landing page proposal may create turbulence

Published

2 months ago

December 9, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: India’s broadcast heavyweights have mounted a firm resistance to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s proposed rule change on landing pages, arguing that the plan is legally shaky, technically confused and commercially stacked against the industry.

News18, NDTV, Times Now and other major networks have told the Ministry that the amendment deserves to be scrapped altogether. Their submissions note that the proposal attempts to revive a measurement method that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had already studied and rejected in 2018 for being unreliable. With the issue currently before the Supreme Court, broadcasters say any fresh intervention now breaches basic principles of administrative fairness.

At the heart of the dispute lies the belief that landing page viewership is somehow suspicious. Broadcasters counter this view, insisting that landing pages act as legitimate promotional real estate, no different from a newspaper jacket or a supermarket’s prime shelf. When a TV set turns on and a viewer decides either to stay or switch away, they argue that this choice represents genuine viewing behaviour, not inflated numbers.

Removing first impressions, they warn, would wipe out real audience actions and twist the ratings picture. TRAI had raised the same concern in 2018, concluding that genuine impressions would be wrongly filtered out.

Industry bodies have added their voice to the chorus. The All India Digital Cable Federation has urged the Ministry to leave current practice intact, while several regional and smaller broadcasters have filed similar objections. The opposition, they say, stretches far beyond a few big brands.

With the sector unified in its stance, broadcasters have urged the Ministry to withdraw the proposal and preserve the current ratings framework. Only then, they argue, can India’s TV market retain a fair contest, clear metrics and a true reflection of what viewers actually choose to watch.