While assuring that the government is fully behind India’s media and entertainment (M&E) industry as an enabler for a better business environment, a senior official yesterday said, adding that recent policy decisions taken at the federal and State levels point towards that.

“As we move forward, the Government of India’s focus is on creating a conducive environment for the industry to thrive”, Information & broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said at the FICCI Frames conference that kicked off in Mumbai yesterday.

The federal government recognizes the pivotal role M&E segment plays in shaping the Indian society, influencing perspectives and reflecting collective efforts, Jaju said, adding this sector resonates deeply with the diverse tapestry of the Indian life and transcends boundaries to foster unity amongst diversity for a country as diverse as India, an official statement put out stated.

Jaju, who took over as MIB Secretary recently, in his address at the Frames inaugural session also set out an agenda for the M&E sector.

“Collaboration, innovation, and leveraging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, will propel India’s media and entertainment sector to greater heights on the global stage,” he opined.

He listed out some of the recent policy initiatives of the government as amendments to the Cinematograph Act (mainly targeted to curb piracy), Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines, Digital Media Ethics Code (Rules) and enhanced FDI limits in cable and DTH sectors.

“A lot of reforms have been brought in the TV broadcasting sector, like uplinking and downlinking guidelines, that ensure Ease of Doing Business and ease of compliance,” Jaju said, according to the official statement.

The MIB secretary stated 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’.

The FICCI-Frames inaugural ceremony was attended, amongst others, by Maharashtra’s Minister for Skills Development and Entrepreneurship, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, actor Rani Mukherjee, FICCI VP Anant Goenka, FICCI Chair of M&E Committee and CEO of Viacom18 Kevin Vaz and FICCI Chair for AVGC  Ashish Kulkarni.

Jaju also dwelt on rapid shifts being witnessed in the M&E sector with the availability of online media content. India is currently going through a phase of digital transformation, he opined, adding accessibility of content over the internet has come with the availability of fairly affordable smartphones and data in the country, which has 900 million internet connections, 600+ million smartphones and 40 million+ connected TVs.

Pointing out that the M&E sector is a major contributor to India’s soft power globally, the MIB secy added the digital media segment is witnessing “huge” growth of 30 percent year-on-year.

“The real shift has come in with the growth of the OTT segment. We have close to 60 OTT platforms in the country, many of which are in regional languages. The OTT segment is currently valued at Rs 10 thousand crore in India. This segment is also drawing foreign investments because of the growth of content in our country. Lots of countries are becoming the top international markets for India’s OTT content,” stated Jaju.

 All these data paves way for looking at M&E sector as a chief contributor to India’s soft power and India’s ascendance among comity of nations, he opined.