Sujata Saunik, Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra and Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India yesterday co-chaired a high-level meeting in Mumbai to take stock of the preparedness for the first edition of the World Audio-Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES)

The Government of Maharashtra has assured its full support, ensuring world-class infrastructure, hospitality and logistics to make the event a landmark occasion, an official statement said.

Saunik directed that a State-level committee be formed for this global summit and stated that each department of the administration will work in coordination seamlessly for the success of the summit, which is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1.

Speaking on the occasion, Jaju said, “This Summit is a global platform for the Media and Entertainment sector. The main aim of this summit is to develop the Indian media and entertainment sector by connecting it to its global media counterparts.”

The meeting covered key points such as forming a joint coordination committee and arranging logistics and outdoor publicity. The meeting also formulated a comprehensive outreach plan with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting leading the effort to invite global leaders, individuals of eminence and industry representatives.

According to the official statement, officials gave special attention to ensuring security, emergency services and seamless connectivity for all delegates attending the event. A dedicated senior nodal officer will oversee coordination efforts to guarantee smooth execution.

Senior officials from both the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra attended the meeting. Those attending the meeting included the likes of PIB Principal DG Dhirendra Ojha; Director General, Central Bureau of Communication, Yogesh Baweja, MIB Joint Secretaries Sanjeev Shankar, C. Senthil Rajan and Ajay Nagbhushan, apart from senior officers from the National Film Development Corporation of India, All India Radio, Doordarshan and the WAVES Council, and the Maharashtra government.

WAVES is positioned as the Davos-held World Economic Forum of the global M&E sector that will see participation from industry professionals, investors, creators and innovators.