Govt mulling steps to promote film-making

In order to promote film-making in the country, the government is considering measures such as easier visa regime and duty reduction on equipment used in the industry.
The government is introducing a number of measures to support media and entertainment industry, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said at the the Global Exhibition on Services (GES).
Highlighting the steps being contemplated, the minister said, "Getting visas for film-making are to be made easier, duties on film-making equipment are to be brought down."
"In order to support better content, the government is considering outsourcing the content for Doordarshan, providing a dedicated channel for showing documentaries and providing funds to Indian movies for participating in foreign film festivals," Rathore was quoted as saying in a statement issued by CII.

He was speaking at a seminar on 'India - Entertainment as Soft Power' at the GES, organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in partnership with CII in Greater Noida.
He also said that with 100 crore cell phone users, 25 per cent of whom own smartphones, the entire country is now covered by the telecom network.

"The Make in India vision of increasing production within India is already happening in the media and entertainment industry with a large amount of content being produced. The government is taking various measures to support this trend and be a facilitator for the industry.

"For example, it is setting up a centre for excellence in animation and gaming in Maharashtra," he said.
Speaking at a separate session on healthcare, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Arvind Mehta said India has enough human capacity to meet both domestic and international demand in the sector.
"The government and the medical fraternity should pool together resources to build excellent hospitals and medical schools across the country," he said.
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Speaking at a different session on tourism, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that creation of tourism circuits within South Asia would help in promoting growth of the sector.

"We need to brand South Asia. We also need to create tourism circuits within South Asia," Teaotia said.
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Suman Billa said that India attracts 8 million foreign tourists but has the potential for 5-10 times more in the next five years.
Suraj Vaidya, President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that tourism generates one in every 11 jobs created in the world.
South Asia has a long way to go and a lot has to be done in this area, he said.
Kinley Wangdi, Chief Tourism Officer, Tourism Council of Bhutan, stated that South Asia has some of the best campaigns and 'Incredible India' is one of them.

"We must improve basic facilities like health, cleanliness and poverty eradication programmes to attract tourists," he added.