Ficci to hold M&E business conclave in Hyderabad

The who's who of India's film and entertainment industries will converge in Hyderabad on December 1 for the two-day Ficci Media & Entertain-ment Business Conclave (MEBC) - 2010.

This would only be the second such conclave to be held outside Mumbai by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci), following the first in Chennai last year.

Announcing this, actor Kamal Haasan, who is also the chairman of Ficci committee on entertainment and media, said the conclave would identify and address the challenges facing the industry across the states. MEBC would work to give an international profile to the regional as well as the national M&E industries in the next few years, he said.

D Suresh Babu, manag-ing director, Suresh Product-ions, said that although Ficci Frames had been taking place in Mumbai for the last 12 years, regional film indus-try representatives generally did not participate in these.

Among the issues to be discussed are television content, convergence of media, safeguarding the vernacular cinema, regional versus national TV, finance, technology, regulatory issues and global linkages. The conclave covers films, television, radio, animation, gaming, visual effects and digital entertainment sectors.

Rs 60,000-crore industry
Sangita Reddy, chairperson, Ficci Andhra Pradesh Committee, said the Indian media and entertainment industry was worth Rs 60,000 crore, and was growing at an annual rate of 14 per cent.

“The current consumer spending of the Indian middle class on M&E is significantly lower compared with developed countries. Given this, the industry has the potential to grow at 18-20 per cent,” she said.

Union minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni, chief minister K Rosaiah, state tourism minister Dr Geeta Reddy, leading Bollywood producers Yash Chopra and Karan Johar, heads of various television channels would speak in different sessions.