India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday said that the country’s aim is to make it the global hub for content creation and post-production.

“We aim to make India a powerhouse of content creation, especially regional cinema, by scaling up regional festivals. India can be the post-production hub of the world by leveraging the immense tech talent amongst our skilled youth”, Thakur said while inaugurating the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji, Goa.

The Minister elaborated that his vision for IFFI is not limited to one event, but what IFFI should be when India celebrates its 100th year of Independence once it transitions from Amrit Mahotsav to Amrit Kaal.

Tracing back the memory lane of Asia’s oldest film festival, Thakur said that the concept of IFFI is rooted in its theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which embodies the essence of peaceful co-existence where the world is one family.

“India’s rising global role and Presidency of the G20, revolves around this theme of the ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, he added.

“For the first time gala premieres of Indian, global cinema, and OTTs (platforms) will be held at IFFI, including the premiere of the fourth season of globally acclaimed series “Fauda’, which features some of the biggest Israeli stars in the world today. I would also like to share that the next season of this show will also be launched at IFFI”, the Minister said, according to an official statement put out by the government.

The Minister congratulated celebrated Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura for winning the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award this year and announced that the Indian Film Personality of the Year award will be conferred to South Indian actor Chiranjeevi.

Thakur pinpointed on the importance of Film Bazaar, which is being arranged on the side-lines of IFFI.

“For the first time, IFFI has augmented the scope of Film Bazaar by introducing Country Pavilions. I invite you to explore over 40 Pavilions that will be showcased at the 15th edition of Film Bazaar. And for the first time IFFI will have a Technology Hub to showcase the latest innovations from the cinema world,” the Minister pointed out.

The Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) will be taking two special courses for the specially-abled on ‘Smartphone Film Making’ (curated for autistic individuals) and ‘Screen Acting’ (curated for wheelchair users), the Minister said.