Media & Entertainment: M&E sector has growth, employment intensity embedded in it: I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju

Media & Entertainment (M&E) is a unique segment with growth and employment intensity embedded in it, and at the same time, it is a sunrise sector from the point of view of disruptions happening in the sector, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) secretary Sanjay Jaju said during his special address at the FICCI Frames 2024 in Mumbai.

India, Jaju said, is currently going through a phase of digital transformation, and the M&E sector is also witnessing rapid shifts that are happening with the availability of online media content.

Speaking about digital infrastructure, he noted that India has 90 crore internet users, over 60 crore smartphones, and over 4 crore connected TVs.

Jaju, a 1992-batch IAS officer, took charge as Secretary of the MIB on February 5, succeeding outgoing Secretary Apurva Chandra, who has been assigned the charge of Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The I&B Secretary noted that the real shift in the M&E sector has happened in the OTT segment, with close to 60 OTT platforms, including regional ones. OTT, he said, is also drawing foreign investments because of the growth in content consumption on OTT.

“The M&E sector is a chief contributor to India’s soft power and India’s ascendance among the comity of nations,” stated the I&B Secretary.Jaju listed down the initiatives being taken by the central and state governments to promote the M&E sector, like amendments to the Cinematograph Act, the Digital Media Ethics Code (Rules), and enhanced FDI limits in the broadcasting sector.He also pointed out that the government has brought in a lot of reforms in the TV broadcasting sector, like uplinking and downlinking guidelines that ensure ease of doing business and ease of compliance.

Jaju said that the National Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) policy is now in its advanced stage and is a pivotal component of “Create in India for the World”.

He assured that the AVGC policy, which has been drafted with inputs from industry stakeholders, will facilitate investment, foster innovation, ensure skill development, protect intellectual property, and help build world-class infrastructure.

The I&B secretary has also envisaged setting up a National Centre of Excellence for the AVGC and Extended Reality sectors, which will create a world-class talent pool for this segment and would also allow the setting up of incubation centres and provide guidance to the industry.

The government has also launched a scheme recently that provides incentives to foreign filmmakers for shooting in India. He said that India has signed co-production treaties with multiple countries to ensure that big-budget international films come to our country.

“This will not only bring in investments but create cross-country linkages and catapult us to showcase our soft power,” he added.

 

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