I&B Ministry
I&B Minister Anurag Thakur expects Indian M&E sector to double by 2030
MUMBAI: Indian media and entertainment sector, which is currently valued at $24 billion is expected to grow to $30 billion by 2024.
“I feel with the growth rate we have and I’m sure it’s going to grow more than that. By 2030 we expect it to double and even more,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told an international media publication at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival recently.
“I think it’s quite lucrative and I expect a lot of people to come and shoot in India because our major focus is to make India the content hub of the world. India has a lot to offer, we still need to grow and go ahead from here. And I expect these incentives may help in the future to attract a lot of business” said Thakur.
In the interaction, he also spoke about the importance of being competitive. “By the end of the Cannes Film Festival you will see the word has spread that India has announced this much – others may come with better packages and all that,” added Thakur. “In a competitive world, you can’t stop here, you have to keep moving. It has to be on a real-time basis, you have to compete with the world. It is not only the incentive — yes it is going to impact — it is also the locations, skilled and less expensive manpower and a huge domestic [India] market available for them as well.”
He also spoke about the importance of the country creating content that can travel globally. “We have to create content for the world, not only for the domestic [India] market. Keeping that in mind, I’m sure if they [the West] could have Marvel’s superheroes, why can’t India?”. “We have a 6,000-year-old rich cultural heritage, we can showcase it to the world in a beautiful manner,” Thakur added.
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.
