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Digitalization of films can help end piracy, save foreign exchange

Published

19 years ago

February 26, 2007

NEW DELHI: Digitalization of cinema is vital in controlling the distribution and exhibition of cinema in digital format and safeguarding intellectual property since the Indian film industry faces almost 40 per cent revenue pilferage due to piracy, according to a Planning Commission study.

The sub-group on ‘Going Digital’ set up by the Planning Commission and headed by Rajeeva Ratna Shah, member secretary in the Planning Commission and a former CEO of Prasar Bharati,, said in its report that going digital would be incomplete if the entertainment (film) sector is not covered. Furthermore, safeguarding the intellectual property rights of the industry would encourage filmmaker to a great extent. The digital cinema system is already a reality in the country and would revolutionize the exhibition of films all over India.

Issues of piracy plague software industry the world over. In terms of money, the industry loses approximately Rs 20 billion on account of piracy directly, on which the government neither earns Entertainment Tax nor Income Tax. digital cinema would help curb piracy in a proactive manner as it will make the pirates business unviable by providing an early and widespread release of films across the country and thus nipping piracy in the bud. Furthermore, as there is no physical movement of the film, creation of pirated copies/versions of the film is ruled out.

The sub-group said the early availability of films combined with high quality images and scheduling flexibility ensure increased box office collections. Early migrants to the digital cinema system have witnessed around 100 per cent increase in revenue collections by way of increased box office collections and thus increased collection of Entertainment Tax and Income Tax.

It said film prints are made from film stock imported from companies like Kodak, Agfa etc. Going by an average of 800 films, 200 prints each at a cost of Rs.50,000 per print entails an expense of Rs 8 billion. As the prints cannot be recycled, it is a waste of money once it completes its life. However, digital cinema does not use any prints, hence minimizing wastage and at the same time saving the country precious foreign exchange.

With the advent of Digital Cinema, niche cinema and regional language films will be able to generate revenues, thus making the local film industry in the states more commercially viable. This will provide employment to local artistes and technicians and other film industry related infrastructural suppliers.

Analogue prints are made from polyester and are destroyed by burning which is a huge biohazard. Digital prints are digital files and can be simply erased from the server’s memory. The Power consumption of a digital projection system is far more economical as compared to the power consumption of an optical projection system. The annual power savings if digital cinema is implemented in around 200 theatres across the country works out to 87,48,000 KVA.

The print quality does not deteriorate with repeated use irrespective of the number of screenings. Small town cinemas plagued by piracy and failure of films coupled with availability of only old films have become economically unviable. However digital cinema will bring the small town cinemas at par to the cinema halls in the big cities as the films can be simultaneously released across the country. The advent of digital cinema has seen proliferation of new and compact cinema houses in small towns and cities.

But the Sub-group said the government should provide incentives for production as well as exhibition of films in the digital format in its own interest as the loss of revenue due to piracy is considerable. Production of cinema in digital format could be on lower tax regime and theatres that have installed digital cinema exhibition facilities can be subjected to lower entertainment tax.

Furthermore, there is need to amend the Cinematograph Act 1952 to incorporate digital cinema. digital rights management/IPR protection is of paramount importance in view of piracy. Many content owners would be apprehensive in sharing their content as piracy is a major issue. Hence, adequate laws to protect the rights of the content owners need to be put in place so that they feel safe to share their content over digital platforms.

As small and medium players would find it difficult to digitize their respective libraries in the light of huge conversion cost, content aggregators could be encouraged and a suitable regulatory/policy regime worked out to make this happen in a hassle free manner.

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Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

1 month ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.