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Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday announced a partnership between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Amazon India in the field of media, entertainment and public awareness.Speaking at the launch of the partnership Anurag Thakur said, "India being an ancient civilization offers millions of stories which are yet to be told. The gamut of stories transcends time and covers a vast domain from spirituality to software, traditions to trends, folklore to festivals and from rural India to rising India. Recently Indian content has experienced success at the international fora, and Indian actors have achieved high popularity among the foreign audience."The Minister delved into the steps taken by the Ministry to create a conducive atmosphere for the entertainment industry in India and said, "The Government recognises the strengths as well as the opportunities of the Indian entertainment industry, especially new platforms such as OTTs. The Ministry has recognised audio-visual services as a Champion Services Sector and recently brought out the self-regulatory framework of OTT content regulation."Speaking about the partnership with Amazon, Thakur stated that the partnership with Amazon India is unique on a number of counts and the Letter of Engagement spans various aspects of the creative industry.
"The partnership would help strengthen industry-academia linkages through provisions for scholarships, internships, masterclasses, and other opportunities for students at the Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India. The initiative would help to reduce the period of struggle for talented artists coming out of prestigious film institutes in India," he said. The Minister also voiced his concern for the quality of content on OTT platforms saying OTT platforms have the responsibility of ensuring that their platforms do not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as creative expressions. Thakur said, "OTT must reflect the collective conscience of the country."Guest of Honour for the event, Varun Dhawan spoke about the depths being reached by streaming services and said Indian cinema by way of streaming is now reaching a world stage and streaming services have today given Indian content a reach hitherto unimaginable. Dhawan highlighted that streaming services act as a leveller and said, "New actors and creators, the talent that had so far remained on sidelines can now connect with audiences worldwide."Speaking about the collaboration, Dhawan said, "The collaboration of such a nature that promotes and supports our industry and talent fills me with hope and helps us all work towards redefining what is meant to be an Indian on the global entertainment stage."Secretary, Ministry of I&B Apoorva Chandra said, "The partnership between MIB and Amazon would lead to opportunities for the Indian talent at the national and international level."Vice President, Asia Pacific, Amazon Prime Video, Gaurav Gandhi said, "Our wholistic collaboration with the Ministry of I&B looks at every life stage and every corner of integration to stimulate the growth of the industry and we are very optimistic about the pathways it will create."Also present on the occasion were Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy at Amazon India, Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, Min. of I&B and other senior officials of the Ministry. (ANI)
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