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NEW
DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry will have
wide-ranging consultations soon with the industry to fulfill
its objective of turning India into a teleport hub for uplinking
/ downlinking satellite television channels so that there
is no dependence on Hong Kong and Singapore.
 The
Ministry will work out modalities, challenges and road map
for this purpose, I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma said
at the media and entertainment summit, ‘The Big Picture’,
organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Varma said India becoming a teleport hub could be instrumental
in attracting accelerated flow of foreign direct investment
(FDI) as also state-of-the-art technology and can help move
up in the value chain in content generation.
The
recent decision of the government to allow 74 per cent FDI
in DTH, IPTV, and Mobile TV etc. are some of the steps that
have been taken in this direction, he said, underscoring the
fact that these steps would be game changers to make India
a ‘digitally happening place’.
Varma assured that the auction process for Phase III in FM
Radio aimed at adding another 839 stations in over 290 towns
and cities would commence by the end of the current financial
year. Many positive steps would be taken in revamping All
India Radio’s FM Radio to enhance its reach and content.
The empowered Group of Ministers is looking into some of the
grey areas in the auction process. The government is also
taking steps to restructure national broadcasting by enabling
Prasar Bharati to recruit fresh talent and restructuring its
financial flows.
Referring to the centenary of Indian cinema, Varma invited
the doyens of the Indian film industry to join the tableaux
to be presented at the Republic Day Parade 2013 in New Delhi
on this subject, by walking down Rajpath on 26 January.
He
also said the proposed National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM)
had been set up with the objectives of undertaking frame-by-frame
picture and sound restoration of more than 2500 films that
are an important component of the Indian film industry. The
Mission with a budget of Rs four billion would also look at
constructing preservation vaults conforming to international
standards for archiving the restored material and for conducting
workshops and training.
Referring to the impact of piracy on the growth of the film
industry, Varma said the government proposed to carry out
an all-encompassing multi-media campaign during the 12th Plan
period involving all stakeholders and film and music industries.
He
also said the government would set up a Film Commission that
would enable institution of a single window clearance system
for shooting in India. He disclosed that in this regard his
Ministry has signed an MOU with the Tourism Ministry to work
towards promoting India as a global film shooting destination.
To give an impetus to an impetus to animation, gaming and
VFX industry, the government would set up a Centre of Excellence
that would produce technical professionals to cater to the
need of high end human resources and IPR creation, under public–private
partnership. The first such centre would come at Mohali near
Chandigarh by the end of the financial year.
The
Ministry is seriously considering using social media and may
launch its own channel on the lines of You Tube.
The two-day meet is discussing various subjects over different
sessions relating to media as a catalyst for social change,
creating competitive business models, regulating sounds and
images, and working to take the media and entertainment industry
to the $100 billion mark.
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