CHENNAI: The third edition of the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry‘s (Ficci) two day Media and Entertainment Business Conclave (MEBC 2011) with the theme ‘Embracing the Digital World‘ began here today.

Opening the inaugural session with the welcome address, Ficci Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said, "Though the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry has demonstrated global competitiveness, but its share in the global market it is still in terms of single digits and needs to be a bigger player in the global market place."

Chalking out Ficci‘s plans for the M&E industry, Kumar that Ficci has formed the Sector Skills Council in association with the National Skills Development Council which will help make available skills which are in short supply across industries and more so the media and entertainment industry. 

Ficci plans to promote digitalisation in the future and is inclusive across all the players. He said that at present India‘s share of location shooting is just one per cent and that Ficci would address the policy makers to have a single window clearance so that more dollars can be attracted for the country.

During his theme address, MEBC chairman Kamal Hasan said he has always been a promoter of digitisation and that digitising would help monetisation for entertainment industry as well as the government.

Digitisation has the potential for monetisation across the myriad platforms available and that in the case of digital, monetization begins with the box-office. He sent a strong message to the promoters of analogue saying that this is not a chest thumping exercise; it is to understand that these people would be gently eased into the digital world.

There were special addresses by the Tamil Film Producers Council SA Chandrasekaran, The South Indian Film Chamber President C Kalyan both of whom requested big production houses such as Reliance and UTV to help the small films by buying them and promoting them. "95 per cent of the films made in the country are small budget films. There are many good small budget films that suffer at the box office because of lack of marketing resources" said Chandrasekharan.

The inaugural session culminated with the release of Ficci-Deloitte Report by Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah who suggested during his inaugural address that small producers should look at co-branding and sponsorships for promoting of their films.

MUMBAI: Ficci?s ?Media and Entertainment Business Conclave (MEBC) 2011? will be held on 1-2 December, 2011 in Chennai with ?Embracing The Digital World? as the overall theme of the conclave.

The two-day Conclave will showcase the potential for developing the Indian Entertainment market in South India with a view to forging global linkages. The effort would be to expose delegates to the global and Indian developments with regard to trends and opportunities in the entertainment industry, business possibilities and regulatory regimes in different countries.

The Conclave will bring together over 500 media and entertainment business people from India and overseas, along with government officials in a bid to deliberate on issues confronting the industry across various states. The business sessions at the Conclave will cover the entire gamut of Media & Entertainment like films, broadcast (TV & Radio), digital entertainment, animation, gaming, and visual effects.

The Inaugural session would be addressed by Ficci Media and Entertainment Business Conclave chairman Dr Kamal Haasan; Tamil Film Producers Council president SA Chandrasekaran, The South Indian Film Chamber president C Kalyan, Ficci Secretary General Dr Rajiv kumar and Keynote address by UTV founder, chairman, CEO Ronnie Screwvala.

The Valedictory Address will given by Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Leela Samson and there is also have a keynote address by Trai chairman JS Sarma.

Haasan said that MEBC 2011 would identify and find redressal of the challenges facing the industry across states. With an eminent speaker?s line up at the conclave, its content will be diverse and enriching in a variety of ways. This year at the Conclave we would see the impact of Digital across the value chain of entire Media and Entertainment Industry.

The Conclave has a seven-fold objective:

• To work closely and strengthen links with the sizeable and vibrant Indian Entertainment Industry and help develop its rich potential
• To take up regulatory issues with the state and central governments
• Provide a forum for the Government to receive authentic and first hand information on the state of the Indian Entertainment Industry and its problems and prospects
• To be one of the most prestigious conventions on the Business of Entertainment in Asia and the entire world; the entire gamut of the entertainment industry would be covered at the Conclave, over a period of two days and will be addressed by thought leaders in each field.
• To offer an opportunity for the Indian entertainment industry to explore its global linkages
• To expose delegates to the global and Indian developments with regard to trends and opportunities in the entertainment industry, business possibilities and regulatory regimes in different countries
• To bring the varied Indian states and their entertainment industries together under a single platform.

The various sessions, spread over two days will review, analyse and make predictions for the future for the entire gamut of Indian media and entertainment in general, followed by an exhaustive micro-view of South Indian entertainment.

Ficci advisor to president P Purai said, "I am extremely happy that FICCI?s Media and Entertainment Business Conclave (MEBC) has truly created a wonderful space for legends and leadership from the Indian and especially the mammoth South Indian film and entertainment industry to review, analyse and make predictions for the future for the entire gamut of Indian media and entertainment."