| NEW
DELHI: With a projected 18 per cent compounded annual growth rate aiming to reach
Rs one trillion by 2011 from its present size of Rs 437 billion, the Indian entertainment
and media (E&M) industry is now reaching out to other countries particularly
in view of the large segment of south Asians resident in almost all parts of the
world. According
to a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) for the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the year 2006 saw the maximum flow of foreign
investment in the E&M industry. As many as 13 proposals for FDI in media were
cleared by the ministry of information and broadcasting in 2006 itself, and the
ministry was examining another 22 proposals for clearance. Interestingly, the
news and current affairs and not entertainment dominated the field with eight
proposals. Over the last three years, the E&M industry has secured foreign
investment of over Rs 4 billion. In
this background, the Global Business Forum slated at Leeds in the United Kingdom
on 7 June to coincide with the India International Film Academy (IIFA) Awards
is expected to result in greater exchange in the field of the converging fields
of entertainment, ICT and telecom. A
60-member delegation of CEOs will take part in the Forum, being organized by FICCI.
The delegation is led by FICCI President Habil Khorakiwala, and will be in Yorkshire
for three days. Ministers
and policy makers who have been working on a range of contentious issues will
be on hand to find solutions. Apart
from entertainment, ICT and telecom, the Forum will have in-depth vertical sessions
on various subjects including environment and sustainable development which becomes
special this year with IIFA having tied up with Global Cool.
Khorakiwala said in a statement that both Indian and British businessmen were
keen to raise the level of trade engagement to one billion pounds, from the present
level of about 900 million pounds, and further to 1.5 billion pounds by 2010.
The GBF will
be addressed among others by Lord Meghnad Desai and civil aviation minister Praful
Patel. According
to a FICCI-Yes Bank report on ‘Strategic Knowledge and Economic Partnerships:
India and UK,’ there is a huge opportunity in the area of joint ventures
for process outsourcing, co-marketing alliances and data processing and other
shared services. The in-depth report will be released at the GBF meeting.
In conjunction
with Yorkshire Forward, 10 corporates will be invited to create pavilions that
would showcase themselves to the business communities and global media. An MoU
would be signed between FICCI and Yorkshire Forward to further the broad economic
agenda between India and the region of Yorkshire. | 
