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Tag: Pranab Mukherjee

  • Ambika Soni offers to lead film delegation to FM on service tax issue

    Ambika Soni offers to lead film delegation to FM on service tax issue

    NEW DELHI: Faced with the prospect of a nationwide full-day shut down of the film industry, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni today offered to lead a delegation of filmmakers to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee over the Government’s proposal to levy 10.3 per cent service tax.

    Speaking on the sidelines of an event here, Soni said: “I have offered that we can all go together to Finance Minister”. She also stated that she was not sure if the industry would go on a strike on 23 February.

    “The filmmakers have apprehension that service tax of about 10 per cent will be levied in the coming budget. They do not want this. I had spoken to Mahesh Bhatt yesterday,” she said.

    At the same time, she wanted the film industry to understand the compulsions of the Finance Minister who had been talking about funds needed for welfare measures of the government, including right to food, right to education and his position “was also tight.”

    However, film industry sources said the proposal for the tax had been taken some years earlier but it was not being levied until recently when the Finance Ministry said this tax was deductible from the exhibitors.

    There are approximately 10,000 theatres in India, including 750 in multiplexes. It is felt that if the Central government goes ahead with its proposal, the budget of films will shoot up.

  • Film industry up in arms against Service Tax on Copyright

    Film industry up in arms against Service Tax on Copyright

    NEW DELHI: A core committee comprising senior members of the film industry, along with Members of Parliament, will meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to voice their protest against the levy of service tax on copyright.

    The Film Federation of India FFI) , which will give detailed statistics stating the losses of the film industry and the meagre success rate, said that levy of service tax will sound the death knell of the Indian film industry and “we will be forced to shut down the entire Indian film industry”.

    In a resolution passed at a joint meeting of the Film Associations including Multiplex Associations of India at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce in Chennai convened by the FFI, it was stated that “this additional service tax will be a big burden and cannot be levied on the temporary transfer of copyrights.”

    The Indian film industry is highly volatile and statistics of the past 10 years show that only 7-8 per cent of the films all over India are successful and, thus, yield only the capital invested by the producer/rights holder along with a meagre profit. The rest of the films are big flops due to various reasons. The success rate in the film has been declining year after year.

    The ‘Government seems to be aware’ of only Hindi hits like ‘Bodyguard’ and are carried away by the collections of the film and feel the sector is making huge profits, FFI said. The films which fail to collect or which flop at the box office are not brought to the notice of the Government. Thus, the Service Tax has been imposed ‘with the idea of collecting more taxes from an ailing industry.’

    FFI pointed out that usually service tax levied is collectable from the end user of the services. Unfortunately the producers, distributors and exhibitors cannot pass on the service tax to the end user – the audience and the consumer – since most state governments have put a cap on the rates of admission in theatres.

    “In that case, the service tax has been absorbed only by the over burdened film industry, which is totally unacceptable. We would also like to bring to the attention of the governments that the film industry is already burdened with heavy taxation of entertainment tax by the State Government apart from VAT being levied by several states. This being the case, the film industry is probably the highest taxed industry in the whole of India without getting any subsidy or financial help either from the central government or state governments," FFI averred.

    Also present was K Vaitheeswaran, Advocate and Tax Consultant. FFI vice president Ravi Kottarakara was the convener of the meeting.

    The meeting was attended by office Bearers and senior members from the FFI, South Indian Film Chamber of commerce, Tamil Film Producers’ Council, Tamil Nadu Film Distributors’ Federation, Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors Association, Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, Kerala Film Producers Association, Film Distributors Association of Kerala, Kerala Film Exhibitors Association, Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce, Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce, Telugu Film Producers’ Council, Chennai, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Kannada Film Producers’ Association, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, Kolkata, and Central Circuit Cine Association.

    FFI also has in its fold other important associations like the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association, the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, the North India Film Association, Multiplex Owners Association of India, Delhi Film Distributors Council, Motion Picture Association, Bihar and Jharkhand Motion Picture Association, Indian Film Exporters Association, Motion Picture Association of America Inc, Kinematograph Renter’s Society Pvt. Ltd., Indian Documentary Producers Association, Chennai City Film Exhibitors Association, Film Makers Combine, Film & Television Producers Guild of South India, Graftii, South Indian Film Exporters Association, Telugu Film Producers Council, Hyderabad, Telugu Film Producers Association, Chennai, Tamil Nadu Film Distributors Council, Tamil Film Chamber of Commerce, The Indian Motion Picture Distributors Association, Western India Film Producers Association and Chamber of Movie & TV Programme Producers, Delhi.

  • CNBC TV18, Awaaz hold fort on Budget day

    CNBC TV18, Awaaz hold fort on Budget day

      MUMBAI: TV18 business channels – CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz – have maintained leadership positions in their respective genres on the Budget day.

    As per Tam data for 26 February, when finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was reading out the union Budget in the Parliament, the English business viewers preferred CNBC TV18 over competition.

    The channel commanded 43.2 per cent viewership (Tam, CS 25+, All India), followed by Bloomberg UTV and ET Now (20.6 per cent each). Surprisingly, NDTV Profit, the second in command for the week, could manage only 15.5 per cent viewership.   
         
      Meanwhile, in the Hindi business news terrain, CNBC Awaaz maintained its dominance on 26 February with 71.3 per cent genre share as compared to 28.8 per cent of Zee Business (Tam, 25+, HSM Market).

    Among the English general news channels (Tam, CS 25+, All India), Times Now led the pack not only on Budget day but also throughout the week. On 26 February, the channel dominated the genre with 31.4 per cent viewership, followed by NDTV 24X7 (30.9 per cent) and CNN IBN (29.1 per cent). Headlines Today got 7.3 per cent while NewsX managed to hold 1.4 per cent of the viewership pie.

    CNN IBN said it occupied the top position on Budget day in the C&S audience segment aged 15+ (0600-2400 hours). In its defined demographic, CNN IBN garnered a ratio of 0.12 per cent over Times Now (0.11 per cent) and NDTV 24X7 (0.11 per cent).

    The Hindi general news space was led by Aaj Tak with 21 per cent share, followed by Star News (16 per cent), Zee News (15 per cent) and India TV (13 per cent) on the day.

  • Star Ananda felicitates ‘Shera Bangalis of 2007’

    MUMBAI: Media Content and Communications Services’s (MCCS) Star Ananda has felicitated ten personalities from diverse fields at the ‘Star Ananda Shera Bangalis of 2007’. The award recognises and honours achievements by individuals that has made Bengal proud.

    Asim Ghosh and Pranab Mukhjerjee with the Star Ananda Shera Bangali Award Star Ananda feliciated minister for defence Pranab Mukherjee, Hutchison Essar MD Asim Ghosh, Hindalco MD Debu Bhattacharya, economist and Nobel Peace prize 2006 winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus, academician and elephant expert Dhritikanta Lahiri Choudhury, painter Arpita Singh, former captain of Indian cricket team, Sourav Ganguly, film director Anurag Basu and actor Mithun Chakraborty.

    MCCS VP Barun Das said, “We at Star Ananda have dedicated ourselves to reflecting and catalysing the growth and resurgence of Bengal and thus continually contribute in this process. ‘Shera Bangali’ is an effort in that direction to recognize those successful Bengalis who not only have excelled in their respective field, but have also helped in putting Bengalis in the international limelight. ”

    The ‘Shera Bangali’ award ceremony was presented by Camellia Group in association with Priya Biscuits, Sriniketan, Asian Sky Shop and Surf Excel. The media partners for the event are Ananda Bazar Patrika, Friends 91.9 FM and Selvel. The event and trophy partners are Millenium EMS and Senco Gold respectively.

    The awared ceremony was followed by performance by Shaan, Koena Mitra, Tanushree Dutta, Jeet, Koyel Mullik, June Maliah and Nachiketa.

  • Senior bureaucrats-cum-journalists pass away

    Senior bureaucrats-cum-journalists pass away

    NEW DELHI: Two senior journalists-cum-bureaucrats belonging to the Indian Information Service, passed away over the weekend. While former editor of the Hindi wing of the United News of India, UNIVARTA, Mr Kashinath Joglekar died in the capital on Saturday aged 80, Mr Amitabh Chakrabarti died of a heart attack in Varanasi on Sunday aged 60.

    Defence Minister A K Antony and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today expressed sorrow over the death of Mr Chakrabarti, who was to have retired later this year and was currently the Registrar of Newspapers in India. The last rites were performed this morning.

    Mr Antony recalled Chakrabarti’s stint as head of the Publicity Wing of the Defence Ministry. Mr Mukherjee in his condolence message said that Late Mr Chakrabarti was a sincere and upright officer, whose career in the Indian Information Service was exemplary for its brilliance. Earlier in the day, Mr Mukherjee and Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutta visited the residence of late Chakrabarti. Both the deceased had held the post of Registrar of Newspapers in India during their careers.

    Mr Joglekar is survived by a son and two daughters. Mr Joglekar’s wife had died a few years ago. Before becoming Univarta’s first editor in 1982 , Mr Joglekar was director of Information Department of the All India Radio. After retiring from Univarta, Mr Joglekar regularly contributed columns and articles for various newspapers and magazines.

    Hailing from Kashi, Mr Joglekar began his career with a small newspaper in Varanasi, after obtaining a degree in Science and Law. During his career, he was also associated with the Allahabad edition of the Amrit Bazar Patrika as well as a newspaper called ‘Northern India’. During the Janata Party rule at the Centre, Mr Joglekar was the press secretary of the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai. After retiring from Government service, he was appointed editor of Univarta and remained in that position for five years. He was also honoured with the Ambika Prasad Vajpayee award instituted by the Uttar Pradesh Literary conference.

    Mr Chakrabarti had gone to Varanasi for some official work when he suffered massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

    A 1971 batch IIS officer, Mr Chakrabarti had worked in various capacities holding senior posts like Additional Director General News and Current Affairs in Dordarshan News. He had worked as Additional Principal Information Officer in the Defence Ministry. He was also Prasar Bharti’s Correspondent in Washington DC

     

  • BBC, Ficci strategic partners in Mumbai Saarc biz meet

    BBC, Ficci strategic partners in Mumbai Saarc biz meet

    NEW DELHI: BBC World, the BBC’s international 24-hour news and information channel will be the official media partner for the second SAARC Business Leaders Conclave, being hosted on 17 and 18 February in Mumbai, a company statement said today.

    The conclave organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce will see BBC World and Ficci as strategic partners, providing a platform for global debate, dialogue and discussion.

    Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for Foreign Affairs of India, will inaugurate the SAARC Business Leaders Conclave 2007.

    The two-day event will witness participation from eminent corporate, government and media personnel from across the sub-continent.

    Among those addressing the conclave are Dasho Ugen Tsechup Dorji, President, SCCI; Syed Yawar Ali, Chairman, Nestle, Pakistan;. Alan Winters, Director- Development Research Group, The World Bank and Najam Sethi, Daily Times, Pakistan.

    On February18, BBC World will organise a debate: “Is a South Asian economic union necessary for economic growth in South Asian nations?”

    The debate will be moderated by BBC World’s business correspondent, Karishma Vaswani with Vicki Treadell, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai and Anand Giridharadas, South Asia Correspondent, International Herald Tribune, among others taking part in the panel discussions.

    Vaishali Sharma, head of marketing communication, BBC World, India, says, “As a leading international news channel, we are proud to associate with Ficci in this endeavour to encourage regional economic cooperation through the SAARC business leaders conclave, as a result providing value to our stakeholders.”

    Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General, Ficci says, “SAARC Business Leaders Conclave is an attempt by the private sector of SAARC towards realising the aspirations of South Asia’s economic integration.

    “The Conclave emphasises deeper Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for creating a platform to address the common challenges that South Asia is facing. Ficci and SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) are delighted that BBC World is partnering with us in this unique enterprise of thought leadership.”

    The first SAARC Business Leaders Conclave (SBLC) in 2005 was held at a time of when SAARC countries stood at the threshold of a new decade of their existence.

    The conclave provided a unique platform to debate the gains made in regional cooperation during its first two decades and to underline that efforts must continue to free South Asia from poverty, hunger and other forms of deprivation which present a daunting challenge.

    The 2007 conclave will reinforce this process through its two-day session theme – Regional Cooperation: A Springboard for Growth and Job Creation.