Jaitley chairs Consultative Committee meeting of I&B Ministry

Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for I&B was also present in the meeting.

Welcoming the members, Jaitley said the topic for discussion was extremely important in view of the efforts being made to project India’s ability and standing as a soft power and a Filming Destination. The conceptwould not only facilitate the contours of growth of the Film Industry, it would also promote the diversity of India to the world through the medium of Films and Cinema. This initiative and proactive stance would boost the inflow of tourism in India from other countries.

The Minister later mentioned that in order to promote India as a soft power, all efforts need to be taken to give the concept a strong ‘Brand Push’. The branding could be undertaken by creating and promoting a capsule that incorporated the key features of India’s professional ability i.e. skills, human resources, diverse locales, filming support from institutional structures and core strengths of India’s Film industry. This capsule needed to be showcased at all major international film festivals.

As part of the efforts to promote the ‘filming destination concept’, Jaitely also emphasized that there was a need to simplify procedures and rules in order to promote the idea in letter and spirit.

A presentation was made on behalf of the Ministry giving an overview of the steps and initiatives undertaken so far to promote India as a soft power. The presentation provided an overview of the processes involved to promote filming in India with reference to the multi pronged strategy adopted by the Ministry. In the presentation specific references were made to promotion to film festivals and film bazaars, co-production units, the proposed legislative framework and policy initiatives to promote skill development in the film industry.

Members of the committee while appreciating the measures taken by the Ministry for this important initiatives also gave suggestions to ensure that the concerns of the stakeholders were addressed and the idea was implemented in totality. It was emphasized that skill development was a critical area and necessary measures needed to be taken by the Government and the industry together. It was also suggested that rules and guidelines for promoting the destination concept required a relook.

Laws and rules needed to be in sync with contemporary technological tools. It was also mentioned that the concept required collaboration and partnership between the ministry and the state governments and other stakeholders.