Taking cognisance of the rampant digital piracy of content, especially cinematic, the Indian government not only remains conscious of the adverse impact of piracy on the creative sector, but has also taken measures to give more teeth to law enforcers and rules.

Highlighting government initiatives to curb digital piracy, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan enlisted some of the measures taken in this regard in the Rajya Sabha last week.

The Minister was replying to written queries from fellow parliamentarians who wanted to know whether the number of piracy cases involving pre-release content had increased in recent times and whether the government has taken steps to enhance surveillance and monitoring of websites and social media channels promoting pirated content, including those based abroad.

Murugan said to address this important issue, the following reforms have been implemented by the government:

# In 2023, the government amended the Cinematograph Act, 1952 to include measures against digital piracy.

# The amendments include strict punishment of a minimum three months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 300,000, where imprisonment can be extended up to three years and fine up to five percent of the audited gross production cost could be levied.

# Section 6AA and 6AB of the Cinematograph Act prohibit unauthorized recording and transmission of films.

# Newly added Section 7(1B)(ii) of the Cinematograph Act empowers the government to issue necessary directions to intermediaries for hosting pirated content.

# The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification have been empowered to receive complaints from copyright holders or authorized persons and issue necessary directions to intermediaries hosting such content.

# An inter-ministerial committee has been constituted to strengthen anti-piracy strategies and develop coordinated action plans.

The Minister added that during the inaugural edition of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, held from May 1-4 in Mumbai and attended  thought-leaders and industry veterans from abroad and India, a competition was also held to develop technical solutions to combat digital piracy.

The Government remains engaged with relevant stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, to curb the menace of digital piracy and protect the integrity of India’s entertainment ecosystem, Murugan added.

A new report released during WAVES earlier this, prepared by CII, IP House and Media Partners Asia, India’s online video sector generated an estimated US$4.2 billion in 2024, with 75 percent driven by advertising and 25 percent from subscriptions, but faces significant revenue and growth constraints due to unchecked digital piracy.

“Without action, piracy could cost India’s digital video sector US$2.4 billion and 158 million users by 2029. With anti-piracy measures, the sector could recover US$1.1 billion in revenue, inject US$0.5 billion into content, and generate 47K jobs in 2029.

“In 2024, approximately 90 million users accessed pirated video content, resulting in US$1.2 billion in revenue loss—equivalent to 10 percent of the legal video industry,” the report observed.