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Tag: Anurag Thakur

  • I&B minister Anurag Thakur announces sops for shooting of foreign films in India

    I&B minister Anurag Thakur announces sops for shooting of foreign films in India

    MUMBAI: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday inaugurated the India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market ‘Marche du Film’.

    To make the country a favourite destination for foreign films, Thakur also unveiled two schemes to incentivize the shooting of foreign films and foreign co-productions with India. The two schemes viz Incentive Scheme for Audio-Visual Co-production and the Incentive Scheme for Shooting foreign films in India are aimed at unleashing the potential of India’s media and entertainment industry.

    Talking about the aspects of the incentives, the minister said that for official co-productions, international film production companies can claim a reimbursement of up to 30 per cent on qualifying expenditure in India subject to a maximum of Rs 2 crore. Foreign films shooting in India can claim an additional 5 per cent bonus up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakhs (USD 65,000) as additional reimbursement would be granted for employing 15 per cent or more manpower in India.  

    The schemes will provide an impetus to global collaborations with India and attract investment from foreign filmmakers and help promote India as a filming destination, the Minister said.  

    Expounding the deep social roots of Indian cinema Thakur said that creativity, excellence, and innovation in Indian cinema have developed hand in hand with sensitive treatment of subjects of social and national importance. “While reflecting the values, beliefs, and experiences of the Indian people, Indian cinema has also showcased their hopes, dreams and achievements. While being rooted in Indian culture, the Indian film industry has grown to acquire a universal character. And while preserving our age old stories, the India film makers are innovating in their art of storytelling through use of technology”, the Minister added. “Indian cinema is not only the story of a 6000 year old civilisation, not only the story of 1.3 billion tales but also the story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of New India narrated through your lens,” the Minister remarked.

     “Bharat ka cinema, daurna chahta hai, udna chahta hai Bus rukna nahi chahta”, paraphrasing a dialogue from the movie ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Diwaani’, Thakur said that through the beautiful journey Indian cinema has inspired global film makers and also been inspired by them and 2020s are the best time to make art and films in India.

    Indian cinema is undergoing a paradigm shift, he said and added, “Over the last few years, the streaming revolution has taken the country by storm, and the popularity of digital/ OTT platforms has changed how films are created, distributed and consumed. Consumers of global and Indian cinema have more choice than ever before”.

    Speaking on the strong intent of the government to make India a favourite filming destination, Thakur said, “We have a strong intellectual property regime, and the digital medium now complements the other more established modes of consumption and dissemination such as theatres and movies. This has brought about a democratisation of consumer choice like never before, and our government is intent on preserving this via support to the creative industries.”

    Crediting the film restoration work for its scale, Thakur said that the government has embarked on the world’s largest film restoration project under the National Film Heritage Mission and as part of this drive, 2200 movies across languages and genres will be restored to their former glory.

  • India possesses immense potential to become the content hub of the world: PM Modi

    India possesses immense potential to become the content hub of the world: PM Modi

    Mumbai: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness on the country’s participation as ‘Country of Honour’ at the Cannes Film festival this year. In a message, the prime minister noted that India’s participation comes at the momentous meeting of celebration of 75 years of India’s independence, 75th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival and 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and France.

    Positioning India as the largest film producing country in the world, PM Modi said that multifariousness of the country’s film sector is remarkable and rich heritage and cultural diversity are its strengths. “India has a lot of stories to be told and the country truly possesses immense potential to become the content hub of the world,” the prime minister added.

    Reiterating India’s commitment to improve ease of doing business in the film sector, PM Modi said that from facilitating international film co-production to ensuring single window clearance mechanism for permissions for filming across the country, India offers seamless possibilities to filmmakers of the world.

    The prime minister further expressed happiness that a Satyajit Ray film has been restored for screening in the Cannes Classic Section as India celebrates the birth centenary of the maestro.

    Among one of the many firsts, startups from India will showcase their strengths to the cine-world. The prime minister expressed confidence that India pavilion will display facets of Indian cinema and promote international partnerships and learnings.

    India is the official Country of Honour at the upcoming Marche’ du Film, that is organised alongside the 75th edition of Cannes Film Festival in France which kicked off on Tuesday. Actress Deepika Padukone is one of the jury members at the Cannes Film Festival. The Country of Honour status ensures India’s presence as Focus Country at the opening night of Marche du Film being organised at the Majestic Beach with spotlight on India, its cinema, its culture and heritage.

    India is also a Country of Honour at the Cannes Next, under which five new startups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the audio-visual industry. Ten professionals will participate on the Animation Day networking. As a major highlight of India’s participation at this edition of Cannes Film Festival, the world premiere of the film “Rocketry” – produced by R Madhavan – is scheduled to be showcased at the Palais des Festivals of the market screening on 19 May.

    The Indian delegation is led by union minister Anurag Thakur and consists of film celebrities from across the country.

  • Cannes 2022: India to be official ‘country of honour’ at Cannes Marche’ Du Film

    Cannes 2022: India to be official ‘country of honour’ at Cannes Marche’ Du Film

    Mumbai: India will be the official country of honour at the upcoming Marche’ Du Film organised alongside the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in France, announced union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday.

     “It is the first time the Marché du Film has an official country of honour, and this special focus will continue annually with different nations in the spotlight at future editions,”  Thakur said.

    Notably, France and India are also marking 75 years of their diplomatic ties. Prime minister Narendra Modi recently visited Paris to meet with president Emmanuel Macron.

    As a country of honour, India’s cinema, culture and heritage will come under the spotlight during the opening night of Marche Du Films being organised by the Majestic Beach. There will be special performances by Indian choir bands along with folk music and fireworks. The cuisine served will be Indian as well as French.

    The I&B minister also announced five new startups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the audio-visual industry at Cannes Next, a business development platform. Ten professionals will participate in the animation day networking.

    The Cannes Film Festival will also feature the premiere of the movie “Rocketry” produced by R Madhavan. The film will be showcased at the Palais des Festivals on 19 May.

    India has pitched five films under the ‘Goes to Cannes Section’ including “Baghjan” by Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia (Assamese, Moran), “Bailadila” by Shailendra Sahu (Hindi, Chhatisgarhi), “Ek Jagah Apni” by Ektara Collective (Hindi), “Follower” by Harshad Nalawade (Marathi, Kannada, Hindi), “Shivamma” by Jai Shankar (Kannada).

    A cinema hall called the ‘Olympia Screen’ has been dedicated to India on 22 May for the screening of unreleased movies under which five films have been selected.

    The festival will also screen Satyajit Ray classic “Pratidwandi’ in celebration of the centenary of the Bengali director at the Cannes Classic section Cinéma de la plage.

    A dedicated India forum i.e., a one-hour conference is being organised at the main stage, comprising leaders in the entertainment sector to discuss ‘India as the content hub of the world’. The forum will be streamed online.

    The minister also noted that the India Pavilion at the festival will have the sole focus on branding India as the ‘content hub of the world.’ The pavilion will be inaugurated on 18 May and will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversities of the country and will serve as a networking platform for delegates from across the global community, aiming to establish international partnerships in film shooting, distribution, production, script development, technology, promoting film sales and syndication.

  • Cinema can play a major role in nation branding initiatives: Anurag Thakur

    Cinema can play a major role in nation branding initiatives: Anurag Thakur

    Mumbai: The union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that the globalisation of Indian cinema aided by a large diaspora has played a role in promoting India’s public diplomacy.

    He said, “We need to promote a public-private partnership to brand India using the power of our film fraternity and the power of India to create the content and become the content sub-continent of the world.”

    The minister addressed a valedictory session during a two-day seminar in Mumbai organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and FLAME University, Pune. “Cinema, as a soft power, can play a major role in nation branding initiatives,” said Thakur in the video message. “Indian film industry and the government today recognise the potential of culture at the highest level. Depiction of one’s culture is a very strong component of any country’s soft power.”

    The minister noted that the capacity of a nation to make themselves attractive in a global marketplace for ideas has become an important aspect of contemporary international relations. He observed that rapid liberalization, deregulation, privatization of the media and culture industry have transformed the film industry in India over the past few decades, and at the same time the expansion of global digital media industries and distribution technologies have ensured that Indian entertainment channels and films are increasingly visible in the global media space.

    “Today, Hindi films are released simultaneously across the globe and its stars are recognised faces in international advertising and entertainment space,” he said. “Even the far-flung African countries are fascinated by our movies and music. We know about countries like Nigeria where the Nollywood market takes a lot of inspiration from Indian Cinema; Bollywood has also expanded in uncharted countries like Latin America; our cinema is making inroads into countries like South Korea, Japan, China,” he added.

    The minister also highlighted the role being played by Indian language cinema and stated, “It is not just the Hindi movies, but also the films in Indian languages that are getting a vast audience nationally and internationally.”

    ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, while addressing the gathering, advocated for institutional arrangements for subtitling Indian films in several foreign languages, particularly in the languages of countries where India’s cultural influence is strong such as Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan etc. He announced that ICCR will organise a national seminar on foreign language training in India and soft power.

    He said, we can pitch our language cinema to the NRIs (non-resident Indians), who are nostalgic about the culture that they left behind. A category such as ‘soft power promotion friendly films’ could be introduced in film awards. “Those films that show a comprehensive and correct understanding of India could be awarded under the category”, he added.

  • MIB, Netflix join hands to launch short video series on women changemakers

    MIB, Netflix join hands to launch short video series on women changemakers

    Mumbai: Minister of information and broadcasting (MIB) launched “Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniya” – a short video series created in collaboration with OTT platform Netflix on Tuesday.

    The ministry and Netflix have collaborated to produce the first set of videos featuring seven women changemakers from across the country who share their experiences in breaking the glass ceiling. Showcasing the unique diversity of India, these two-minute short films were shot in locations across the country and are narrated by acclaimed actor, Neena Gupta.

    The seven changemakers include Poonam Nautiyal, a healthcare worker who walked miles across Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand to vaccinate everyone, Dr Tessy Thomas, the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India, Tanvi Jagadish, India’s first competitive woman stand-up paddleboarder and Aarohi Pandit, the world’s youngest and first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean solo in a light-sport aircraft. Three of the videos and a trailer offering a sneak peek into the series, were released on Tuesday.

    The announcement was made as part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in the presence of ministry of state Dr L Murugan, ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra and Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria.

    The I&B minister indicated that this was a long-term partnership where different themes and diverse stories will be highlighted. He said, “Netflix will be producing twenty-five videos on themes including women empowerment, environment and sustainable development and other days of significance. Netflix will produce two-minute short films for the ministry which will be shared on social media platforms and telecast on Doordarshan network.”

    Thakur elaborated that the ministry in partnership with Netflix will continue to organise training workshops and master classes to encourage film makers in India to create inspiring content on various topics under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

    “Netflix and the ministry will partner to develop a creative ecosystem by organizing training programs for post-production, VFX, animation, music production among others and will be organised on ground and virtually,” he announced.

    In his opening remarks, I&B secretary Apurva Chandra highlighted that the I&B ministry and Netflix signed a collaboration agreement and that the three videos released on Tuesday are the first set produced under the partnership. He added that a deeper collaboration featuring a long running series on our freedom struggle and the stories that need to be told to the world is in the pipeline.

    Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria said that India was one of the most vibrant entertainment industries in the world and India was remarkably well placed in times of internet entertainment. “Netflix is excited to be part of a time when stories from India are being exported to the world and the best Indian stories are being discovered and loved on a global stage,” said Bajaria.

    Commenting on the partnership, she added, “Netflix is proud to partner with MIB to celebrate and acknowledge the evolution of India over the past 75 years by celebrating its beautiful art, culture and storytelling”. She further added that it was “in pursuance of this partnership Netflix has created a series of short videos based on real life stories aimed to celebrate achievement of people from all corners of India.”

    “These stories are of incredible women who have fought against the odds to achieve their dreams. Netflix’s commitment to India is strong and growing and Netflix will continue to find the country’s finest stories and share them across the globe,” she remarked.

  • I&B minister Anurag Thakur launches Broadcast Seva Portal

    I&B minister Anurag Thakur launches Broadcast Seva Portal

    Mumbai: Union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur on Monday launched the Broadcast Seva Portal in New Delhi to facilitate ease of doing business in the broadcasting sector. Broadcast Seva Portal is an online portal solution for speedy filing and processing of applications of broadcasters for various kinds of licenses, permissions, and registrations.

    The 360-degree digital solution will facilitate the stakeholders in seeking permissions, applying for registration, tracking applications, calculating fees and executing payments. The services will be provided under the wider umbrella efforts of Digital India to all stakeholders including private satellite TV channels, teleport operators, MSOs, community and private radio channels.

    The Broadcast Seva Portal aims to bring transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to the ecosystem, with all information being made available on a single dashboard.

    Various services and features of the portal include end-to-end processing, integration with payment system (Bharat Kosh), integration with e-office and stakeholder ministries, analytics, reporting and Management Information System (MIS), integrated helpdesk, application forms and status tracking, downloading letters/orders from the portal itself, and alerts to stakeholders (SMS/e-mails).

    Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said the government has harnessed technology to bring transparency to the system and make it more accountable. “The Broadcast Seva Portal will reduce the turnaround time of applications and at the same time will help applicants track their progress. It will reduce the human interface that was required earlier and thus add to capacity building of the ministry and will be a major step towards ease of doing business,” he said.

    The minister informed the audience that the test run of the portal has received positive feedback from end-users. Soon it will be coupled with the National Single Window System. The ministry is open to further improvements that the industry may feel are required.

    MIB secretary Apurva Chandra shared that the new portal has several improvements over the previous version, having incorporated suggestions from stakeholders over a trial period of one month.

    The broadcasters present at the event welcomed the launch of the portal and said that it will greatly reduce the distance an application has to travel and the effort required in the application process.

    Improving India’s business climate is one of the key focus areas of the Government of India and the Broadcast Seva Portal exemplifies the Government’s commitment to ease of doing business and empowering the broadcasting sector.

    “The portal is a giant leap forward in realising prime minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ as this simple and user-friendly web portal provides a broadcaster with an end-to-end solution with just a click of a mouse. It will boost the business environment and empower the entire broadcast sector by directly benefiting more than 900 Satellite TV Channels, 70 Teleport operators, 1700 Multi-service operators, 350 Community Radio Stations (CRS), and 380 Private FM Channels and others,” Thakur added.

  • Aim to make India content sub-continent of the world: Anurag Thakur at Dubai Expo

    Aim to make India content sub-continent of the world: Anurag Thakur at Dubai Expo

    Mumbai: India aims to be the content sub-continent of the world, the minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said on Monday, the concluding day of his three-day visit to Expo 2020 in Dubai. The union minister was there to hold a conversation with actor Ranveer Singh on ‘The Global Reach of Indian Media & Entertainment Industry” at the India pavilion.

    During the discussion, the minister acknowledged the contribution of films in India’s soft power project. “India is a land of storytelling and the film industry has left a great impact on people of foreign countries who identify India for its films,” he said, adding that, “This can generate millions of jobs in India and create content for the whole world.” 

    The India Pavilion at the Dubai Expo pulled 1.7 million visitors and Thakur observed that Indian people in Dubai are the real ambassadors of India.

    He also admired Ranveer Singh’s acting, recalling his performances from various films.

    “Indian content is on the cusp of making its presence felt on the world stage,” said Singh. “Indian entertainment is going to explode globally. Our stories resonate with people and transcend cultural boundaries and Indians abroad connect with India through films.”

    Earlier during the day, the I&B minister held a discussion with Dubai Corp for Tourism and Commerce Marketing CEO Issam Kazim on various strategies adopted by Dubai in respect of the tourism sector to make it a preferred tourism destination for the world.

    During the meeting the minister commended Dubai for organising the Expo which has been a great success despite the pandemic. Highlighting the importance of Dubai on the tourism map of the world, he remarked that Indians have preferred to fly to Dubai over western capitals like London during these pandemic years.

    Kazim mentioned that Dubai’s success has been possible owing to the decisive leadership with a focused target. He talked about Dubai authority’s strategy during Covid-19 when the city was shut down in March 2020. The authorities adopted a completely new strategy and ensured restrictions and protocols. Vaccinations and PCR tests were made mandatory for travellers and that Dubai was the first city to open up for tourists.

    “Dubai is targeting to get 25 million  tourists by 2025 and become the world’s most visited city,” said Kazim. “The city focuses on aspects like marketing Dubai so that people feel comfortable to come, making it easier to set up businesses, promoting Dubai as the best city to live in, promoting FDI, inviting tech companies, improving connectivity through Emirate airlines and infrastructure development.” He also mentioned that Dubai is also exploring the crypto currency space, although it is risky and unregulated for now.

    Kazim highlighted that India has great potential in tourism. “India can utilise the unique aspects of key cities/states and focus on their strengths,” he said. “Also, India’s IT talent benefits the global industry which can be promoted as strength.”

    Thakur invited Kazim to visit India to further discuss collaboration opportunities in the tourism and media and entertainment sector.

  • I&B minister Anurag Thakur to visit Dubai to promote Indian M&E sector

    I&B minister Anurag Thakur to visit Dubai to promote Indian M&E sector

    Mumbai: The information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur will be on a three-day official visit to Dubai between 26-28 March to attend a CEO roundtable with leading personalities of cinema exhibition and television world.

    The I&B minister will also visit the India pavilion at the Dubai Expo where media and entertainment week has been going on throughout the week. He will meet ministers and industry leaders during the visit.

    The CEO roundtable on Saturday will be attended by Vox Cinemas CEO Ignace Lahoud, Star Cinemas COO Satyajit Pendharkar, Channel 2 Group founder MD Ajay Sethi, ARN Group’s Vivek Sethia and Mathew Johnson, Star TV head – international business Sudhir Nagpal.

    On Sunday, Thakur will visit the India pavilion at the Dubai Expo to participate in the event ‘celebrating and taking Indian media and entertainment industry global.’ Eminent film personality Ranveer Singh is likely to join the minister during the visit, according to the statement.

    The minister will interact with many leaders of the sector during his visit to the pavilion including Dubai Film and TV Commission Jamal Al Sharif and Dubai Development Authority on 28 March.

    The minister will meet a range of people to promote India’s interests in the sector including HH Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, HE Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, minister of culture and youth Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, minister of state for international cooperation, International Humanitarian City member of the board and director general of Dubai’s department of tourism and commerce marketing (Dubai Tourism) E Helal Saeed Almarri Nahyan, Sharjah Media City chairman HE Dr Khalid Omar Al Midfa, department of culture and tourism and twofour54 chairman HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Sharjah Media City managing director H.E. Shihab Alhammadi, Tecom Group group CEO Malek Al Malek, Dubai Media City managing director Majed Al Suwaidi, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City at Tecom group, Galadari Brothers Group co-chairman Suhail Galadari, Gulf News chairman Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Middle East Broadcasting Center founder and chairman Waleed bin Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim.

  • Govt unlikely to set up media commission to check irregularities: Anurag Thakur

    Govt unlikely to set up media commission to check irregularities: Anurag Thakur

    The government is unlikely to set up a media commission that will facilitate checking the irregularities in print, electronic and digital platforms, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur told Rajya Sabha while responding to a query raised in the Upper House of the Parliament on Thursday. 

    In its twenty-seventh report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology has recommended it. The committee proposed setting up a Media Council with statutory power in December 2021.

    “The government regularly holds consultations with stakeholders 

    and utilises data & information available from various sources for policy formulation, building strategies, etc. The setting up of a media commission is not considered necessary at present,” Thakur said in a written response to the parliament. 

    The parliamentary committee is headed by Senior Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor.

  • MIB prohibited transmission of 15 TV channels since 2019: Anurag Thakur

    MIB prohibited transmission of 15 TV channels since 2019: Anurag Thakur

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has prohibited the transmission of 15 channels for violations under the uplinking/downlinking and of the programme code since 2019, minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

    Thakur also said that the ministry has issued directions for blocking 56 YouTube-based news channels and their social media accounts for public access during 2021-22 under Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics) Rules 2021.

    Between 2014-2021, the ministry of electronics and information technology also exercised its powers under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to block 25,369 URLs, consisting of web pages, websites, pages on social media accounts etc.

    The Lok Sabha questioned the minister whether the government is authorised to impose broadcast bans on TV channels and if it has outlined any policy for the same. It also asked if the government has put a redressal mechanism in place to hear the grievances of the channels.

    The minister informed the Lok Sabha that all private satellite TV channels are granted permission by the ministry under the uplinking and downlinking guidelines, 2011 and are required to adhere to the terms and conditions of such permission including adherence to the programme code and advertisement code and other provisions laid down under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.

    He further noted that the grant of permission to a satellite TV channel under the guidelines is subject to security clearance by the ministry of home affairs as per the procedure laid down by it.

    To address the grievances of TV channels, the government follows the due process of law and laid down the process before taking a decision to suspend/prohibit a channel. “Grievances related to the uplinking/downlinking guidelines are addressed by the ministry,” said Thakur.

    The Lok Sabha also asked if the government had conveyed a detailed explanation of why MediaOne was not allowed to continue their broadcasting to the channel management. To which the I&B minister replied, “The government has followed due process of law and the laid down procedure before taking a decision regarding the cancellation of permission to TV news channel ‘Media One’. The matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court.”

    He further informed the Lok Sabha that details of channels whose permission has been cancelled for violation of the uplinking and downlinking guidelines are available on the I&B ministry’s Broadcast Seva portal.