Shooting of foreign films in India get a boost, Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur announces major sops
May 18, 2022
Shri Thakur inaugurates India Pavilion, unveils poster for 53rd edition of IFFI
Indian cinema is a story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of New
India: Shri Thakur
Cinema has emerged as instrument of our soft power in last seven decades: Shri
Thakur
Indian cinema, an instrument of soft power, has made world know India better:
Indian Ambassador to France, Shri Jawed Ashraf
NEW DELHI, 18 May 2022: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur today inaugurated the India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market 'Marche du Film'. With an aim to make India a favourite destination for foreign film makers, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur today unveiled two schemes to incentivize shooting of foreign films and foreign co-productions with India. The two schemes viz Incentive Scheme for Audio-Visual Co-production and Incentive Scheme Shooting of foreign films in India are aimed at unleashing the potential of Indian media and entertainment industry.
Talking about the aspects of the incentives Shri Thakur
informed that for official co-productions, international film production
companies can claim a reimbursement of up to 30% on Qualifying Expenditure in
India subject to a maximum of INR 2 crore. Foreign films shooting in India can
claim an additional 5% bonus up to a maximum of INR 50 lakhs (USD 65,000) as
additional reimbursement would be granted for employing 15% or more manpower in
India. The schemes will provide an impetus to, global collaborations with
India and attract investment from foreign film makers and help promote India as
a filming destination, the Minister said. (Details of the scheme are in Annex 1 below)
Expounding the deep social roots of Indian cinema Shri
Anurag Thakur said that Creativity, excellence, and innovation in Indian cinema
has developed hand in hand with sensitive treatment of subjects of social and
national importance. "While reflecting the values, beliefs, and experiences of
the Indian people, Indian cinema has also showcased their hopes, dreams and
achievements. While being rooted in Indian culture, the Indian film industry
has grown to acquire a universal character. And while preserving our age-old
stories, the Indian film makers are innovating in their art of storytelling
through use of technology," the Minister added. "Indian cinema is not only the
story of a 6000-year-old civilisation, not only the story of 1.3 billion tales
but also the story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of New India
narrated through your lens," the Minister remarked.
"Bharat ka cinema, daurna chahta hai, udna chahta hai,
bass rukna nahi chahta", paraphrasing a dialogue from the movie 'Yeh Jawani Hai
Diwaani', Shri Thakur said that through the beautiful journey Indian cinema has
inspired global film makers and also been inspired by them and 2020s are the
best time to make art and films in India, the Minister added.
Indian cinema is undergoing a paradigm shift as "Over the
last few years, the streaming revolution has taken the country by storm, and
the popularity of digital/ OTT platforms has changed how films are created,
distributed and consumed. Consumers of global and Indian cinema have more
choice than ever before".
Speaking on the strong intent of Government to make India
a favourite filming destination, Shri Thakur said, "We have a strong
intellectual property regime, and the digital medium now complements the other
more established modes of consumption and dissemination such as theatres and
movies. This has brought about a democratisation of consumer choice like never
before, and our government is intent on preserving this via support to the
creative industries."
Crediting India's film restoration work
for its scale Shri Thakur said the Government has embarked on world's largest
film restoration project under the National Film Heritage Mission and as part
of this drive, 2200 movies across languages and genres will be restored to
their former glory.
Congratulating the India Pavilion Shri Thakur said, "India Pavilion is a feather in our cap and only with your Vishwas and Prayas
today, it will become the pioneer of the Indian dream tomorrow."
The Minister released the official poster of 53rd edition
of International Film Festival of India at the India Pavilion. (Annex 2)
Speaking on the occasion actor Ms Tamanna Bhatia said
that India has contributed to the global film industry for many years and now
in 75th year of independence the partnering of Cannes Film Festival with India
is truly iconic. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui added to the sentiment saying that
India is a land of many stories and these stories from grassroots are worthy of
global prominence. Actor Deepika Padukone commented that this was a proud
moment that India was the country in spotlight at Cannes on 75th anniversary of
independence, adding that Indian cinema is at the cusp of greatness and this
achievement at Cannes is only a beginning.
Shri Shekhar Kapur said India was a land of stories and
now Indian culture will become a predominant culture in cinema as the west
plateaus. Shri Prasoon Joshi extolled that film making needs to become so easy
a process that budding filmmakers from the smallest of towns feel empowered to
turn their vision to reality.
Ms Pooja Hegde emphatically commented that she was there
as part of none other but brand India and it was an honour further adding that
the fact that India was Country of Honour was proof that India was making the
right noises. Ms Vani Tripathi commented on the role Indian women are playing
in cinema and said that India women are being celebrated today across the world
as Deepika has proven by being a jury member. Shri R. Madhavan, Shri A.R.
Rahman, Shri Mame Khan and Secretary of I&B, Shri Apurva Chandra were also
present on the occasion.
Shri Jawed Ashraf, the Ambassador of India to France, read out the message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Indian delegation to Cannes Film Festival. Addressing the audience he further said that Indian cinema has made the world know India better. The Indian cinema is a critical aspect of the expanding soft power of India in the world.
Salient features of the Incentive Schemes for Audio-Visual Co-production and Shooting of foreign films in India
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, has decided to launch Incentive Schemes for International Productions that shoot in India and Official Co-productions with foreign countries.
The Incentive and eligibility
- Under the Incentive Scheme for Audio Visual Co-production, for all qualifying projects, the Indian Co-producer can claim a payable cash reimbursement of up to 30% on Qualifying Expenditure in India subject to a maximum of INR 2 crore (USD 260,000). However, reimbursement shall be divided among the Producers as per their respective share of the financial contribution for the project.
The project must have been granted a "Co-Production" status by the Ministry of I&B and the participating country(ies), under one of India's official bi-lateral co-production treaties on Audio-Visual Co-production. Projects that have been granted official Co-production status after 01.04.2022 are eligible for the incentive.
- Under the Incentive Scheme for Shooting of Foreign Films in India, the same incentive as mentioned above shall be provided. Apart from that an additional 5% bonus up to a maximum of INR 50 lakhs (USD 65,000) can be claimed, as additional reimbursement and would be granted for employing 15% or more manpower in India.
To
avail this scheme international productions that have been granted shooting
permission by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Ministry of
External Affairs (for documentaries only) after 01.04.2022 shall be eligible.
The
Incentives will be disbursed in two stage i.e. Interim and Final. The final
disbursement claim can be made once the project is complete in India.
Incentives will be provided on the recommendation of a Special Incentive
Evaluation Committee. (The detailed guidelines for which will be available on
the FFO website). Moreover, incentives can be claimed under either of the
Schemes and not for both.
The
Incentive Scheme shall be executed through Film Facilitation Office (FFO) under
the aegis of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
YouTube link of India Pavillion at Cannes 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY_t7EezHXk