I&B Ministry
I&B Ministry invites ideas for National Centre of Excellence in Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects
NEW DELHI: Stakeholders wanting to invest in the National Centre of Excellence in Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects have been requested to submit proposals based on which a detailed project report would be prepared for further action.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the Centre is to be set up under the 12th Plan scheme.
The Planning Commission has given in-principle approval to the project. The objective of the scheme is to impart quality education and to ensure availability of skilled manpower.
The scheme would also ensure increasing ownership of Intellectual Property by Indians in animation/gaming/visual effect sector leading to increased revenues, employment generation, cultural pay-off and a subtle leveraging of India’s soft power in the global arena.
The size of animation, visual effects and post production industry in India, according to FICCI-KPMG Report 2014, is Rs 39.7 billion in 2013, with a growth of 12.4 per cent in the year 2014.
Out of this, the share of animation services and animation production comes to Rs 12.7 billion in 2013. It is projected that the Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in animation services and animation production for the period 2013-2018 would be 7.1 per cent.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
