The government would like to be facilitators and supporters of the media and entertainment industry so that it reaches the world stage, a top Indian government official said yesterday, adding the sector needs to step up the game to ‘catch up with the world’.

“The world is interested in Indian stories and Indian culture” said Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra while delivering the inaugural address at the 23rd edition of FICCI Frames in Mumbai, while adding that the industry too needs to get its act together.

Further dwelling on overcoming the challenges of manpower and infrastructure that the industry is staring at, Chandra said the government is committed to working alongside the industry to set up more institutes so that more manpower comes on board in the industry.

Holding forth on the AVGC sector, which is the focus of the government at present, Chandra said, “Animation, visual effects and graphics are areas which have tremendous potential. With the establishment of the AVGC task force and the creation of a national policy for AVGC, India will be well on its way to becoming a global leader in the AVGC industry.”

He elaborated that the government is going to explore ways to introduce AVGC in school curriculum so that students are exposed to this growing and exciting sector at an early age. He also stated that the government hopes to make a National Centre for Excellence operational in Mumbai by next year.

According to an official statement issued by the MIB, while underlining the role of the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), the Secretary said, “Through NFDC we need to finance projects and give support to young filmmakers who don’t have access to funds otherwise.

“We also hope to come up with NFDC’s own OTT  platform to showcase those films that don’t get space in the market so that young talent gets a chance to showcase its talent”.

Expressing hope that recent policy decisions will prevent film piracy, the Secretary said, “The Cabinet has recently approved the revamp of the Cinematograph Act  so that strict action can be taken against piracy. The Act is likely to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament. We hope to get it passed soon. This will give direct powers to the government to take action against websites showing pirated films.”

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who was part of the inaugural programme, said, “The more local we go, the more global we reach. Our film industry is at the cusp of global greatness, and I am fortunate to be living in a time where the world has become a creative melting pot of culture.  India is being looked at as a creative juggernaut and our industry is being welcomed globally.”