THE TASK FORCE ON AVGC HAS PUT IN PLACE A DETAILED STRUCTURE ON HOW TO INTRODUCE AVGC AND MAKE IT PART OF THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY

These agreements also provide a platform for cultural exchange and help in strengthening bilateral relations between nations.

By signing co-production agreements, India aims to tap into the global market, enhance the quality of its films, and create opportunities for its filmmakers to reach international audiences. Furthermore, co-production agreements enable Indian filmmakers to explore diverse themes, settings, and stories, thereby broadening the creative horizons of the industry. Through collaborations with international partners, Indian filmmakers can learn from different filmmaking techniques, styles, and experiences, enriching their own artistic repertoire.

How does the Government plan to address the challenges of manpower and infrastructure in the Industry?

The Government is committed to working alongside the industry to establish more institutes and bring more human resources on board. The Government intends to explore ways to introduce AVGC in school curricula to expose students to this exciting sector at an early age. Attempts have already been made in this regards and today Central Board of School Education has introduced curriculum from class 6 to 8 on AR-XR. The Task force on AVGC has put in place a detailed structure on how to introduce AVGC and make it part of the New Education Policy.

As mentioned earlier the National Centre for Excellence in Mumbai will roll out several programs that includes training of the trainers’ program amongst others which will exponentially enhance the skilled man power for this sector.

A UGC-recognized curriculum for Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees will be established with a dedicated component of practical skills that will be imparted through a mix of in-house training by faculty as well as mentorship by industry recognized mentors.

The NCOE will provide policy advisory services, industry consulting services in terms of setting up of management clinics for National and international partnerships, curriculum design for institutes, training of experts and in the long term, will serve as an employment exchange for the industry as well as for individuals seeking career opportunities in AVGC-XR sector.

The Government also intends to undertake mapping and upgradation of existing curriculum of educational institutions (Short- & Long-term trainings or courses) as per NSQF guidelines to meet industry and international standards. For the same purpose, uniformity in course content and delivery will also be looked into as part of the standardization process.

To address the gaps in infrastructure, the Govt. will take adequate steps to encourage companies offering AVGC technology products, including software, to move from a traditional license and maintenance model to a subscription-based model. This will lead to expensive software not becoming a financial barrier to adoption of new AVGC-XR technology. Feasibility to set up AVGC-XR and design specific R&D labs in various Institutes of Eminence like IITs, NITs, IISc, in the country, will be evaluated.

What initiatives are being taken to preserve and restore India’s film heritage?

The National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) was launched by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 2016, to undertake preservation, digitization and restoration of India’s cinematic heritage in a Mission Mode. As part of NFHM, 3 major projects are ongoing at NFDC: Digitization of Films, Preventive Conservation of Film Reels and Restoration of Films, that are of immense significance and have never been attempted on this scale globally. The project aims to digitize and restore more than five thousand feature films and short films, with a significant portion already completed. Storage vaults of global standards meeting the requisite spatial, storage and climatic requirements are also being constructed to accommodate films and filmic material across variety of mediums. These new storage vaults will be fully functional by the end of this year.

Ministry is contemplating on launching a program through which film enthusiasts and citizens can fund the digitization and restoration of their favourite films. The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) will play a crucial role in financing projects and providing support to young filmmakers who lack access to funds. The Government also intends to establish NFDC’s own OTT (over-thetop) platform or tie up with already existing OTT players in the market to showcase to the world these restored/ digitized films.

How does the Government plan to address film piracy?

The Government is in the process of revamping the Cinematograph Act in order to combat the menace of film piracy in a comprehensive manner. Stricter punishments have been proposed to empower the Government to effectively address the issue of unauthorized recording and exhibition of films as well as illegal distribution of pirated films over the internet. The Government aims to introduce the revised act in the Monsoon Session of Parliament and hopes for its quick passage to strengthen their resolve to tackle film piracy and strengthen the IP regime.