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Tag: Piyush Goyal

  • ‘Documentary cinema educates, inspires and motivates to bring a change in the society’: Anurag Thakur

    ‘Documentary cinema educates, inspires and motivates to bring a change in the society’: Anurag Thakur

    Mumbai: The 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival for documentary, short fiction and animation films (MIFF-2022) began with an opening ceremony in Mumbai on Sunday.

    Speaking via a video message, the Union Minister for Information And Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said, “Documentary cinema creates the most significant impact. It not only educates, inspires and motivates a change in the society but also acts as a tool that transcends cultures and boundaries.”

    This edition will offer around 400 films from across the world. Out of these, 102 films will be screened under the competition category-35 in international competition and 67 in a national competition.

    The minister also mentioned that MIFF provides a platform where documentary filmmakers from all over the world get to exchange ideas and explore the possibilities of co-productions and marketing of documentary, short and animation films. He added that this opportunity eventually broadens the vision of the film-makers vis-à-vis world cinema.

    Speaking in this context, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles,  Piyush Goyal said that those who produce art films, documentary films and animation films are kind of a ‘Start-Up’ seeding new ideas and play the role of messengers in the country.

    He said there are multiple avenues like the silver screen, television, OTT, etc, available to spread the message across the world, thus allowing such ‘start-ups’ to become ‘Unicorns’.

    Goyal said that Lata Mangeshkar was an inspiration for many artistes and musicians & through art she took India’s history, tradition and heritage to the world. “Let us explore ways as to how we can institutionalise Lata Didi’s role for the country, the city of Mumbai and the Cinema world itself.”

    The Minister of State for Information And Broadcasting, Dr L. Murugan in his address spoke about the efforts made to promote Indian Cinema globally. He also pointed out how India has made a greater presence at the Cannes Film Festival and said Shaunak Sen’s film “All That Breathes” made India proud by winning the best documentary award.

    The minister said that the government has announced incentives for international filmmakers and co-productions, especially for feature films, animation films, documentary films and web series.  “AVGC sector promotion is happening in a great way. The prime minister (PM) called for Digital India and Startup India and the Indian contingent at Cannes showcased our culture and ethos,” he proudly recalled.

    The seven-day festival was organised by the Films Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and inaugurated by Piyush Goyal.
     

  • Amazon’s Jeff Bezos tells Bollywood content is Prime motive

    Amazon’s Jeff Bezos tells Bollywood content is Prime motive

    MUMBAI: Jeff Bezos is used to thinking big. He is also used to controversies. So even as his plan to invest a billion dollars in Amazon’s India operation got a lot of press and protests and a snub from commerce minister Piyush Goyal (at a time when the competition commission is investigating "predatory pricing"), the billionaire sat down with Indian superstar Shahrukh Khan and Zoya Akhtar for a half hour tete-a-tete around his prime video service in Mumbai during an event where the crème de la crème of Bollywood was invited.

    And what he said must have sent a lot of flutters in the hearts of the creative talent that is seeking to put their films and originals on the Prime Video platform.

    “It''s a vehicle to make fantastic content and from a business point of view, it works for us as well. Prime Video is doing well all over the world – Germany, Japan, America, everywhere,” he admitted to Shahrukh. “But nowhere is it doing as well as it is in India where our watch times have grown over six times in two years.”

    With that kind of growth, he has been more than encouraged to double down investment in original content. 

    “The whole world is witnessing ‘a golden age of television.’ When you look at TV series today, they are really good in terms of quality. They're as good as the very best movies have ever been. And now we're getting the best storytellers and actors to come and do TV,” he disclosed.

    "This is one of those businesses where the viewer is always looking for something fresh. And so you can never find a formula because as soon as you find the formula, it's not fresh anymore. So it really takes human ingenuity… I want Amazon Studios to be all over the world."

    He further highlighted that he wants Amazon Studios to be "the most talent friendly studio in the world.”

    "One of the hardest things that humans do is tell riveting, engaging, inspiring stories. When you get it right, it's a lever that can change the world," he pointed out. 

    The Prime Video India team used the ocassion to showcase seven new shows which are to make their debut on the streaming service: "Dilli", "Bandish Bandits", "Paatal Lok", "Gormint", "Mumbai Diaries-26/11", "The Last Hour" and "Sons of Soil- Jaipur Pink Panthers”. Additionally, new seasons of Mirzapur, Four More Shots Please, Breathe, The Family Man, and Inside Edge were also announced.

    Prime Video’s original team is headed internationally by James Farell, while Vijay Subramaniam heads the India piece and has been driving most of the shows which have found traction with audiences as well as from critics.

    The Prime service is subscription driven and is priced at Rs 999 a year in India promising acess to the streaming service as well as overnight delivery of products from the ecommerce platform. In the US, it’s upwards of $100 a year or $12.99 a month. It has, in recent times, launched a free advertising video on demand service ImdbTV, offering its originals and movies to viewers who don’t mind watching TVCs.

    Among those who attended the Mumbai event included: Kamal Haasan, Kabir Khan and his wife Mini Mathur, Farhan Akhtar with Shibhani Dandekar, Ritesh Sidhwani with his wife Dolly, AR Rahman (who later performed), Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh, actor Pankaj Tripathi, Vidya Balan and Siddharth Roy Kapur, Rajkumar Rao, Richa Chadda, Manoj Bajpai, and Vivek Oberoi.

  • No plans to regulate TV industry or IPL: Piyush Goyal

    No plans to regulate TV industry or IPL: Piyush Goyal

    MUMBAI: Finance minister Piyush Goyal informed the Rajya Sabha that the government is not planning any law to regulate the television industry with regard to fund irregularities in the Indian Premier league (IPL) according to a report by Economic Times.

    The Revenue Intelligence authorities had not made any assessment regarding flow of unaccounted money into entertainment industry, including cinema production and distribution. The matters regarding tax evasion and unaccounted black money are under investigation and appropriate actions are taken under the Income Tax Act, Goyal informed.

    On a question on flow of unaccounted/black money into entertainment industry, the minister said, “There is no such assessment that unaccounted/ blackmoney has been found to specifically flow into entertainment industries, including cinema production and distribution, television and IPL cricket by the revenue intelligence agencies under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).”

    “There is no proposal as of now to bring out any new legislation to regulate cinema and television industries as well as IPL cricket,” Goyal said. 

    The action as per the I-T Act, he added, is taken against companies which may be engaged in diversified activities across various sectors, including entertainment industries as well as IPL cricket.

  • Strong economic logic underpins several events, says Gurumurthi, as ET Now adds new viewer category

    Strong economic logic underpins several events, says Gurumurthi, as ET Now adds new viewer category

    A while ago, the Times Network decided to embark on a mission to provide more to its business viewers of ET Now. Rather than overdose them with business news 24X7, it decided to show them how general news can also be viewed with a business lens.

    Tune into the channel after 5pm and you will get to see development related news – both economic and social, that will give a business viewer a better idea of the sector. It can also be seen as an attempt to get evening viewers, who are generally glued to the general news and debates that follow. ET Now also has general news, shows and debates to engage the upwardly mobile audience.

    Managing editor Sandeep Gurumurthy is not only behind-the-scenes but also co-hosts the 9 pm primetime debate ‘Rise with India’. In conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Shekhar Pundir, Gurumurthy sheds light on the channel’s intent to change its positioning and what has come out of it.

    1) How has this change from pure business to a mix of offerings benefitted you?

    We are truly overwhelmed with the response so far. I don’t think any news channel has taken the leap of faith that we have. We sensed a clear need to bring intelligent and informed conversations back on news TV and no other channel saw the merit in putting development at the core of its editorial agenda.

    2) How successful have you been in discussing India’s holistic development and imagery?

    While these are early days, I think we have been very successful in establishing India Development Debate as a leading platform to discuss and debate issues relating to the country’s development. We have received great responses from stakeholders, both in the policy and corporate space. Top ministers and bureaucrats from the government such as Piyush Goyal, Jayant Sinha, Rajiv Kumar and Amitabh Kant, have participated in the show and contributed to finding solutions for the issues we raised.

    3) What impact do you see on viewers after about 10 weeks of the shift?

    To me, this is more than just repositioning. The entire organisation has morphed into a new entity with a new purpose. This is a tectonic shift and I appreciate the fact that it will take a while for people to understand the importance of this change. A year ago, this seemed unimaginable. Having said that, we have only made a beginning and set ourselves on a path, which is unchartered territory.

    5) ET Now’s new shows promised to uncover the economics behind major news around us. Please comment on the effect and impact of this strategy.

    I think with all these stories, what we are trying to demonstrate is that very often, there is a strong economic logic that underpins a lot of events that happen around us. Our endeavour is to bring that out. You can’t reduce news events to binary propositions. That’s how we want to make Rise with India, the most intelligent debate show.

    7) What would you say makes the show different from the other business shows?

    To start with, this isn’t a business show at all. This is a news debate show that focuses on development issues. Development is not just economic development but also social development. We have debated issues like hunger, sanitation, etc. which are core to India’s development agenda. Tell me another channel or show that is even talking about these issues on prime time?

    9) What change in viewership have you noticed?

    We have not repositioned the channel with an intent to drive viewership. We don’t decide topics based on what will get us eyeballs or drive viewership, we decide topics based on what will create impact and make a difference to India’s development agenda. With all humility, that is what we are doing at ET Now. Thanks to our strong brand, we are already one of India’s most watched English news channels. I am certain that in this new avatar, ET Now will draw a whole new category of viewers, who have so far stayed away from business news.

    10) Wouldn’t most leaders cater to similar topics?

    We as leaders definitely believe that these issues needed to be done differently. But we don’t want to restrict ourselves to just economic issues. Our agenda is development and we will cover every aspect of it. Most other business channels don’t discuss the kind of issues that we do. If they now start doing so, I will only be too happy.

    11) What would be ET Now’s strategy, going forward?

    We want to put development at the core of public discourse. We want to make India Development Debate, India’s most influential debate show that leads to change. We want to do whatever we can to aid India’s development agenda and help every Indian to rise with India.

     

     

    ALSO READ :

    ET Now revamps to offer both, business and general news

    The television business news conundrum

    Times TV gets into a gunfight with CNBC TV18 on Budget Day claims

  • Less-cash to digital economy the goal, but remonetisation behaviour uncertain, feels Jaitley

    Less-cash to digital economy the goal, but remonetisation behaviour uncertain, feels Jaitley

    NEW DELHI: Huawei Telecommunications India CEO Jay Chen has said that demonetisation and the resultant shift to digital economy will help India bridge the digital gap and transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

    Addressing a ‘Digital Economic Forum 2016’ organised by Times Network in association with Huawei India, Chen said “Today India is at the centre of the world’s attention thanks to the vision and leadership of the present Government. Key national initiatives have given an impetus to the Indian economy. Digital India specifically, is the engine of all the key initiatives. We believe the recent drive by the Government towards digital payments is the heart of a digital economy. The recent high value currency demonetisation is a lifetime opportunity for India to leapfrog into a digital economy.”

    Other speakers included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and those present included Vodafone India External Regulatory Affairs Director P Balaji, Mobikwik founder andf CEO Bipin Preet Singh, Shopclues founder Sanjay Sethi and State Bank of India MD Praveen Kumar. The forum included a panel discussion on ‘Digi-Monetisation: Sparking a less cash economy in India’ that involved participation from key industry experts.

    Jaitley said, “Management of the economy does not depend on the kind of slogans people create. India is an economy that has been suffering with a high cost of capital. The ultimate goal is to digitise the economy. A less-cash economy is supplemented with a digital economy. There is no settled behaviour as to how people will behave when remonetisation sets in. Digitising the economy gives us a great opportunity. Over the next few years, the incremental impact of Digi- monetisation will also be felt in the economy. Lastly, we should make political funding transparent.”

    Goyal said “Digital push was an integral part of demonetization exercise. Any move as big as demonetisation is bound to have some small issues. Today telecom companies have confirmed that spectrum is no longer an issue. Once the person gets addicted to digital transaction, then the possibility of fraud will also reduce. Currently we are looking for a change in the working and mindset of the country. As we say that, the country’s youth have a lot of potential for innovation. Lastly, I would like to congratulate the Times Network for such an initiative like Digital Economy Forum.”

    Times Network executive editor Navika Kumar moderated Q and A sessions with Jaitley and Goyal.

    Times Network MD and CEO M K Anand said, “As a successful media company we have to be aware of the pulse of our audience. In the last 12 years, we have seen a distinct change in the mood of this country. Indians are in a hurry to progress. And they are willing to undergo pain if needed to quickly move forward. We have aptly captured and reflected this mood of the nation in our hallmark tagline NOW or Nothing. This mood of the people is reflected by the most action oriented government that this country has seen in a long while. Demonetisation or remonetisation as we call it is an expression of Now or Nothing. As India’s premium network for influencers, we believe it is within our power and mandate to contribute to this historic endeavor. Amongst a series of initiatives aimed at bringing clarity and accelerating much needed understanding and action in this area, the Digital Economy Forum has been designed to look at Digitisation as a means and an end to Demonetisation and the benefits thereof.”

  • Less-cash to digital economy the goal, but remonetisation behaviour uncertain, feels Jaitley

    Less-cash to digital economy the goal, but remonetisation behaviour uncertain, feels Jaitley

    NEW DELHI: Huawei Telecommunications India CEO Jay Chen has said that demonetisation and the resultant shift to digital economy will help India bridge the digital gap and transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

    Addressing a ‘Digital Economic Forum 2016’ organised by Times Network in association with Huawei India, Chen said “Today India is at the centre of the world’s attention thanks to the vision and leadership of the present Government. Key national initiatives have given an impetus to the Indian economy. Digital India specifically, is the engine of all the key initiatives. We believe the recent drive by the Government towards digital payments is the heart of a digital economy. The recent high value currency demonetisation is a lifetime opportunity for India to leapfrog into a digital economy.”

    Other speakers included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and those present included Vodafone India External Regulatory Affairs Director P Balaji, Mobikwik founder andf CEO Bipin Preet Singh, Shopclues founder Sanjay Sethi and State Bank of India MD Praveen Kumar. The forum included a panel discussion on ‘Digi-Monetisation: Sparking a less cash economy in India’ that involved participation from key industry experts.

    Jaitley said, “Management of the economy does not depend on the kind of slogans people create. India is an economy that has been suffering with a high cost of capital. The ultimate goal is to digitise the economy. A less-cash economy is supplemented with a digital economy. There is no settled behaviour as to how people will behave when remonetisation sets in. Digitising the economy gives us a great opportunity. Over the next few years, the incremental impact of Digi- monetisation will also be felt in the economy. Lastly, we should make political funding transparent.”

    Goyal said “Digital push was an integral part of demonetization exercise. Any move as big as demonetisation is bound to have some small issues. Today telecom companies have confirmed that spectrum is no longer an issue. Once the person gets addicted to digital transaction, then the possibility of fraud will also reduce. Currently we are looking for a change in the working and mindset of the country. As we say that, the country’s youth have a lot of potential for innovation. Lastly, I would like to congratulate the Times Network for such an initiative like Digital Economy Forum.”

    Times Network executive editor Navika Kumar moderated Q and A sessions with Jaitley and Goyal.

    Times Network MD and CEO M K Anand said, “As a successful media company we have to be aware of the pulse of our audience. In the last 12 years, we have seen a distinct change in the mood of this country. Indians are in a hurry to progress. And they are willing to undergo pain if needed to quickly move forward. We have aptly captured and reflected this mood of the nation in our hallmark tagline NOW or Nothing. This mood of the people is reflected by the most action oriented government that this country has seen in a long while. Demonetisation or remonetisation as we call it is an expression of Now or Nothing. As India’s premium network for influencers, we believe it is within our power and mandate to contribute to this historic endeavor. Amongst a series of initiatives aimed at bringing clarity and accelerating much needed understanding and action in this area, the Digital Economy Forum has been designed to look at Digitisation as a means and an end to Demonetisation and the benefits thereof.”

  • Mumbai Press club awards Ninan , NDTV editor Ravish Kumar

    Mumbai Press club awards Ninan , NDTV editor Ravish Kumar

    NEW DELHI: Veteran business journalist T N Ninan has been honoured with the Red Ink Life Time Achievement Award of the Mumbai Press Club. The ‘Red Ink Journalist of the Year’ Award was given to NDTV India’s senior executive editor Ravish Kumar for his consistent and good reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

    The awards presented by Maharashtra governor C Vidyasagar Rao and Union Energy minister Piyush Goyal recognizes Ninan’s extensive contribution to business journalism through editorial leadership which he provided to a host of publications. Vinod Mehta, Kuldeep Nayar, N Ram, Mrinal Pande and Prannoy Roy were in the past honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award.

    ‘The Wire’, a news and public affairs website founded by Siddharth Varadarajan and Siddharth Bhatia, was adjudged the ‘Red Ink Start-up of the Year’.

    The Mumbai Press Club also honoured posthumously Jagendra Singh of Shahjahanpur, UP with the ‘RedInk Veer Patrakar Puraskar. Jagendra Singh was allegedly killed for his exposes on illegal sand mining and other misdemeanours of a local politician in June 2015.

    The Red Ink Awards for Excellence in journalism were given away in 10 categories for meritorious work in TV, print and digital formats. The categories were politics, crime, health and wellness, business, environment, human rights, photography, science and innovation, entertainment and lifestyle and sports.

    The theme of the Red Ink Awards 2016 was ‘To Rise Above It All’ . A panel discussion held on the occasion reflected upon many challenges being faced by journalism in a period of increasing violence, vested interests and hashtag writings. The panel moderated by Shobha De comprised veteran journalist Meenaz Merchant, co-founder of Wire news portal, Siddharth Varadarajan, Moneylife Foundation’s Sucheta Dalal and NDTV editor Ravish Kumar.

     

  • Mumbai Press club awards Ninan , NDTV editor Ravish Kumar

    Mumbai Press club awards Ninan , NDTV editor Ravish Kumar

    NEW DELHI: Veteran business journalist T N Ninan has been honoured with the Red Ink Life Time Achievement Award of the Mumbai Press Club. The ‘Red Ink Journalist of the Year’ Award was given to NDTV India’s senior executive editor Ravish Kumar for his consistent and good reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

    The awards presented by Maharashtra governor C Vidyasagar Rao and Union Energy minister Piyush Goyal recognizes Ninan’s extensive contribution to business journalism through editorial leadership which he provided to a host of publications. Vinod Mehta, Kuldeep Nayar, N Ram, Mrinal Pande and Prannoy Roy were in the past honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award.

    ‘The Wire’, a news and public affairs website founded by Siddharth Varadarajan and Siddharth Bhatia, was adjudged the ‘Red Ink Start-up of the Year’.

    The Mumbai Press Club also honoured posthumously Jagendra Singh of Shahjahanpur, UP with the ‘RedInk Veer Patrakar Puraskar. Jagendra Singh was allegedly killed for his exposes on illegal sand mining and other misdemeanours of a local politician in June 2015.

    The Red Ink Awards for Excellence in journalism were given away in 10 categories for meritorious work in TV, print and digital formats. The categories were politics, crime, health and wellness, business, environment, human rights, photography, science and innovation, entertainment and lifestyle and sports.

    The theme of the Red Ink Awards 2016 was ‘To Rise Above It All’ . A panel discussion held on the occasion reflected upon many challenges being faced by journalism in a period of increasing violence, vested interests and hashtag writings. The panel moderated by Shobha De comprised veteran journalist Meenaz Merchant, co-founder of Wire news portal, Siddharth Varadarajan, Moneylife Foundation’s Sucheta Dalal and NDTV editor Ravish Kumar.

     

  • MIB organises talkathon with Ministers to mark Modi govt’s one year

    MIB organises talkathon with Ministers to mark Modi govt’s one year

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Modi Government is marking completion of one year in office, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has organised a talkathon with three union ministers as part of its initiative to highlight the achievements of the Government.

     

    In the first Talkathon of its kind, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani,  Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy minister Piyush Goyal, and Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be participating for a duration of 90 minutes on 30 May from 6 pm onwards. The programme would be live from National Media Centre, New Delhi.

     

    Talkathon is an initiative by the New Media Wing of the MIB, which connects the virtual space with the physical world. Under the platform, participants in the social media space can post questions on Twitter, which would be answered by the guests. The users can use the hashtag #AskYourGovt to post their queries to the Twitter handle of the Ministry @MIB_India. 

     

    The speakers will reply to the queries posted on Twitter, in real time. The event will be webcast LIVE on MIB’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/inbministry),pib.nic.in, india.gov.in, www.youtube.com/DDNewsofficial and DD News.

     

    This is the third edition of the Talkathon. It was introduced at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2014 followed by Talkathon with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu after the Rail Budget. The last edition of the Talkathon was with Finance, Corporate Affairs and MIB minister Arun Jaitley soon after he presented the Budget on 28 February. The latter was especially successful with the hashtag #AskFM trending at Number 1 on Twitter. 

     

    The current edition of Talkathon is a collaborative effort of the New Media Wing, Press Information Bureau and Doordarshan News under the aegis of the MIB.

  • Arun Jaitley inaugurates ET Now’s 2nd India Economic Conclave

    Arun Jaitley inaugurates ET Now’s 2nd India Economic Conclave

    MUMBAI: “Fortune favours the brave, and the BJP has made the most softening global crude prices. Not only has it boosted the fiscal health of the economy, but has also eased significant pressure on the domestic prices, indicating that the inflation could go down below the level of 5.5%,” Arun Jaitley said at ET Now’s 2nd edition of India Economic Conclave.
     
    The day long conclave themed – ‘India: The Giant Awakens’ had four sessions that brought together captains of Indian industry, policy makers, institutional investors and civil society leaders that included key ministers like Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Power Minister Piyush Goyal.
     
    While making keynote address it was pointed out that the government will make the most of the decisive mandate bestowed on them in the General Election this year. They will push through key legislations like GST, Coal Ordinance, easing land laws and amendments to the New Companies Act. And to push through these laws Jaitley and government is ready to take all stakeholders along. In a move to push the GST Amendment Bill in this session itself, the finance minister will meet his State counterparts to iron out concerns and build consensus.
     
    Speaking to India Inc, the finance minister strongly criticized UPA’s tax policies, saying that, “The government and investments paid a big price for some of the tax measures that would never yield revenues.” Obviously, referring to the controversial retrospective amendment to tax capital gains, transfer pricing of shares and GAAR.
     
    In his government’s endeavor to climb back to a high growth trajectory, Arun Jaitley highlighted the need to push manufacturing and reform the banking sector. While the finance minister said that he was acutely aware of growth and direct taxes growing a slow pace, he was confident of meeting his revenue targets. With his sights set on the February Budget, Jaitley promised to address India Inc’s concerns to boost growth.