I&B Ministry
Guild seeks tax sops, to submit pre-Budget memorandum to I&B ministry
NEW DELHI: The film industry wants abolition of customs/excise duty, countervailing duty on import of broadcasting/post-production and animation equipment, set-top boxes (STBs) and removal of octroi on raw stock and exemption of service tax on duplication of prints to be removed on export sales.
The Film and Television Producers Guild of India is meeting information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi shortly to submit the Pre-Budget Memorandum highlighting issues concerning the entertainment industry.
The demands will include an increase in proportion of foreign direct investment in media from 26 per cent to 74 per cent for Direct to Home (DTH).
Subsidies and incentives will be sought for boosting export of animation content being driven out of India on the lines of tax benefits provided by Canadian Government for creating local animation content.
There is also a demand for creation of Special Export Zones (SEZs) for the entertainment media to facilitate promotion of Indian exports content, and widening the definition of industrial undertaking under Section 72A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to include electronic media (TV broadcasting).
Another demand is for reduction of the base for fringe benefit tax from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for the broadcasting industry, as in the case of computer software industry and exemption for broadcasting industry from service tax as in the case of print media.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
