Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwani Vaishnaw, while announcing the World Audio Visual and Entertainment (WAVE) Summit, said the government will focus on creating employment in the media and entertainment sector and augment the talent pipeline.

This, he explained, will be executed via both structural and procedural efforts.

“The media and entertainment (M&E) world is undergoing a structural change and has seen immense technology infusion. This has, on one hand, opened many opportunities, but on the other, also caused concerns among few participants who have not been able to keep up with the change, the Minister stressed in his address in New Delhi on Saturday.

According to an official statement put out by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), Vaishnaw said that the role of public policy, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was to “enable harnessing of the best out of this structural change”.

He added that the government is committed to supporting the entire ecosystem of media and entertainment in coping with this change.

The WAVE curtain raiser was a star-studded event with the actual conference to be held concurrently with the International Film Festival of India in Goa from November 20 to 24.

The Minister said that the government focus is on creating employment in the media and entertainment sector and augment the talent pipeline. These efforts will ensure creation of an ecosystem that encourages high quality content, creation and protection of IP rights in the country and makes the world recognize India as a natural choice for establishing their content creation centers.

He added that this endeavour will require close coordinated efforts between the M&E industry, the financial sector and the world of technology. This necessitates well thought policy initiatives and the minister expressed hope that in the months ahead the government and the industry will combine their efforts towards that goal.

The Minister further said that WAVES and IFFI will form different parts of the same spectrum and that WAVES Summit represents the input, while the International Film Festival of India is the output. He added that the convergence of input and output will establish Goa as a major hub for creativity and talent.

The Minister, along with other dignitaries, launched the website of WAVES 2024 (https://wavesindia.org/ ) and unveiled the brochure of the summit.

MIB Secretary Sanjay Jaju said that the event aims at creating a world class M&E summit: “The aim of the initiative is to bolster India’s soft power as India grows economically. The Summit is expected to set new benchmarks in creativity, innovation and influence.”

The Secretary informed about the opportunities that the summit will capitalize on and said that content production and innovation, animation, VFX, and gaming and finally music and IP creation will form its pivots.

WAVES aims to be a premier forum, fostering dialogue, trade collaboration and innovation within the evolving M&E industry landscape. The Summit will convene industry leaders, stakeholders, and innovators to explore opportunities, tackle challenges, attract trade to India, and shape the sector’s future.