Mumbai: The minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur has approved an additional charge as CEO to Prasar Bharati’s Director General (DG) Mayank Kumar Agarwal.
He was previously associated with Doordarshan and Doordarshan News at the public broadcaster.
Shashi Shekhar Vempati has departed from the public broadcaster. Agarwal’s appointment is effective till the joining of a regular incumbent to the post of CEO or until further orders.
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.
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.
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.
Mumbai: Prasar Bharati is not closing any Akashvani radio station in India, the minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur told the Parliament on Tuesday. Thakur was responding to concerns regarding the closure of radio stations across different parts of the country that have been in the news for the last couple of years.
Prasar Bharati has issued a clarification on false reporting and fake news claiming closure of AIR stations on several occasions earlier. Speaking in the Parliament, Thakur once again elaborated that “obsolete analog transmitters are phased out from time to time with the availability of alternate transmission technologies such as FM, satellite radio through DTH and internet streaming.”
“Further, content reforms are undertaken from time to time to ensure that the national, regional and local services of Akashvani serve diversity of content, while optimally leveraging the scarce resources, giving opportunity to local talent and improving quality without duplication of content. The operational expenditure of these services is being met through the Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) of Prasar Bharati,” he stated.
Thakur also told the Parliament that the government has approved schemes for setting up of Frequency Modulation (FM) transmitters in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) premises at seven locations along the Indo-Nepal Border including SSB premises at Narkatiaganj in West Champaran District in the State of Bihar.
On FM stations and community radio stations, Thakur further said that Prasar Bharati has 523 FM transmitters located at 483 All India Radio (AIR) stations across the country. Under the policy guidelines on the expansion of FM radio broadcasting service through private agencies (phase-III), MIB grants FM radio license to private companies registered in India under the Companies Act, 2013.
The private FM radio phase-III policy being city-centric provides for setting up of FM radio stations in all cities having a population above one lakh unless it is getting covered from an adjacent city. Further 11 cities in border areas of UT of Jammu & Kashmir, UT of Ladakh and the North East states having a population less than one lakh have also been approved for setting up FM radio stations.
Under FM phase-III, the government has approved to the auction of 683 channels in 236 cities.
Mumbai: Minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur met with Netflix co-founder and chief executive officer Reed Hastings for a discussion on Tuesday. Thakur presented Hastings with a copy of the holy book Bhagvad Gita during the meeting.
The minister shared photos of the meeting via his personal handle on Twitter.
“Good discussion with Mr Reed Hastings (Co-Founder & CEO Netflix),” said Thakur in a tweet. “Today consumers of content are traveling the world through stories; India offers a variety of opportunities and ideas – in multiple languages,” he wrote.
Hastings recently announced that Netflix would invest more in India after already pumping Rs 3000 crore in the past two years. In an interview with Business Today, the Netflix chief had said that India is one of its “top priorities” and that the streaming company will continue its commitment to the Indian market by simply “investing more” in content.
In February, the government framed the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 that introduced a grievance redressal mechanism for news publishers, OTT platforms and digital media and a Code of Ethics that prescribe the guidelines to be followed by OTT platforms and online news and digital media entities.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Cable Operators’ Foundation (MCOF) has written to the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and minister of information and broadcasting (I&B) Anurag Thakur to resolve pending grievances of local cable operators (LCOs) before 2 October.
According to the association, the inaction of TRAI has resulted in a loss of Rs 600 crore per year for LCOs. “The LCO fraternity will take steps to protect itself no matter the consequences on the rest of the value chain,” the letter reads.
The LCOs had sought TRAI intervention in the matter of unilateral imposition of inter-connect agreement by multi-system operators. It alleged that MSOs leveraged their portals to impose prepaid terms on LCOs while offering post-paid services to subscribers, and called for redefining the shareable revenues between broadcasters and cable operators, and asked TRAI to clear ambiguity in set-top-box ownership.
“Our subscribers and we are wondering as to why TRAI has not taken any step to implement the NTO 2.0 after the SC verdict refusing interim relief to broadcasters’ pleadings,” said MCOF. “The broadcasters and MSOs continue to milk the disempowered customers through packaging tricks and also deny a level playing field for standalone broadcasters. On a conservative basis, the forced excess payment towards content that subscribers do not want is Rs 50 per month.”
Model interconnection agreement (MIA) and standard interconnection agreement (SIA) are signed between MSOs and LCOs for the retransmission of TV signals. MIA ensures that there is a mutual agreement in the terms set between LCOs and MSOs in line with the regulatory framework, to avoid disputes and ensure a level playing field. SIA provides for standard terms and conditions prescribed by regulation that may be adopted by MSOs and LCOs if they fail to mutually agree on an MIA.
During NTO 2.0 litigation, LCOs claimed that TRAI has incorrectly portrayed them as a conduit between MSOs and subscribers undermining the role they have played as last-mile owners bringing connectivity to lakhs of homes. LCOs fear that subscriber ownership may be transferred to the MSOs and will lead to broadcasters and MSOs benefitting disproportionately at the cost of LCOs.
LCOs have adopted a prepaid billing model for cable TV subscriptions to bring transparency and plug leakage of revenues. However, LCOs claim that while MSOs impose prepaid terms on the LCOs, they continue to offer post-paid services to TV subscribers by leveraging their portals. This has impacted their revenue collection.
“The payout of pay-TV channels to cable operators for retransmission of TV signals is much lower than the amount billed to the customer,” said MCOF. “This fact is visible at a glance at the P&L statement of MSOs who disclose Netted Content Costs,”, said the letter.
LCOs have asked TRAI to clear ambiguity on set-top-box ownership resulting in unilateral pricing without invoicing or service level agreement (SLA) to the subscribers.
The LCOs service 10 crore homes and employ five lakh semi-skilled personnel. The letter states that the sector is at a make-or-break point with thousands of crores invested in fibre infrastructure at risk of disuse and economical infotainment to 40 crore viewers. It said that LCOs’ long list of grievances has been brushed aside by TRAI without any justification.
MUMBAI: Childhood obesity is a rising problem in India. The issue was addressed in today’s Lok Sabha session when a reply was sought from the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani on whether the government is aware of the study that correlates watching ads on TV with increasing habit of eating junk and if there is a proposal to impose a ban on telecast of junk food and cold/soft drinks advertisements on television.
In a written reply, Irani said that presently there is no such proposal to bank such ads on TV. Admitting that obesity in children was a concern, she mentioned that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has informed that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has constituted an expert group to address the issue of High Fat, Sugar and Salt foods (HFSS).
The expert group in its report made a recommendation regarding ban on foods with HFSS advertising on children’s channels or during children shows.
On this recommendation, the remarks of the FSSAI was that the food businesses could be asked to voluntarily desist from advertising HFSS foods on kids’ channels. Bodies like Food and Beverage Alliance of India have already decided to voluntarily restrict food and beverage advertisements concerning children.
Nine major food business operators have already joined this campaign and have decided not to advertise products with HFSS on kids’ channels.
Although the move of banning will promote healthy eating habit among children, it will hamper revenues of major advertisers on channels such as Pogo, Nickelodeon, Disney and others.
In December 2017, the Ministry had asked TV channels not to air advertisements selling and promoting condoms calling them indecent, especially for children. The government further reasoned that such ads can create unhealthy practices among them. Following this, there was a complete ban on condom ads on television between 6 am to 10 pm.
Also Read:
‘Sanskari’ India wants condom ads off primetime
MIB recants, says only explicit condom ads banned during the day
MIB mulls broadcast of DD News to 100 countries
Cross-media holding: Indian policymakers push for regulations