November 07, 2001

‘11’

    The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Smt. Sushma Swaraj has called upon the film and television industry to stop exhibition of violence so that our youth and children are not bombarded with violence on screen. She said, as responsible leaders and opinion makers we must introspect and make our own ground rules to decide what should be shown on the screen.

    Inaugurating a meeting of the Information Ministers of States, organized by FICCI, here today, Smt. Swaraj said that after the WTC attack on 11^th September Hollywood is reported to be contemplating changes in scripts of various films so that violence exhibition on screen was reduced. We also consider this in right earnest, she said.

    Referring to the projected boost in the growth of entertainment industry from the present Rs. 10,000 crores to Rs. 30,000 crores in the year 2005, Smt. Swaraj asked the industry to assess as to in what way the growth of projection of entertainment sectors is likely to be affected by the turn of events. ‘Can we find an opportunity in adversity? Or can we substitute the loss, which may perhaps be witnessed in entertainment exports, by focussing more on the domestic entertainment sector?" She asked.

    The Information and Broadcasting Minister said that the potential of the Entertainment sector can only be realized if the leaders of the industry single-mindedly work towards this objective and, at the same time, the policy-makers from the Centre and the State Governments create an environment which is conducive for growth of this sector. What is needed is a joint exercise where all of us work in synergising our efforts. Many of the policy variables which influence this industry fall within the purview and legislative and executive competence of the State Governments. The Central and the State Governments will, therefore, have to assume the role of pro-active facilitators for nurturing and encouraging investments in the Entertainment Sector.

    Another aspect, Smt. Swaraj mentioned was the revenue generation for the State Governments from the Entertainment Sector. "The Central Government does not, intend to suggest any legislative or other changes which have an adverse impact on State revenues. When we support the demand of lowering the Entertainment Tax, it is with an explicit assumption that lower taxes will generate more demand for the discourage tax evasion by making the evasion less attractive. We would wish to see how would computerization of ticketing made possible with small investments, and perhaps suitable legislative and executive support from the State Governments, plug leakages in the revenue system, thereby leading to lower or negligible tax evasion and would thus also fill the coffers of the State Governments," she said.

    The Information and Broadcasting Minister also sought the views of the States and the industry whether the pay channels should be permitted to telecast advertisements or their revenue generation be limited to their subscription charge, which is perhaps the practice in many parts of the world. The suitability of the Conditional Access System of cable viewing was also referred for consideration. Smt. Swaraj expressed happiness that most State Governments have come down heavily on video piracy.

    The meeting was attended by Information Ministers, senior officers from States, representatives of film industry, Indian Broadcasting Federation, cable industry, Event Management Association and music industry. The Minister also launched the Event Management Association of India, a Wing of the FICCI.