I&B Ministry
Indian films are carriers of culture across the world: Rajyavardhan Rathore
NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the Ministry was keen on organising Indian Film festivals all over the world as films are carriers of culture, tradition and values.
Indian films have been a soft medium to reach out to a global audience. More film festivals would be organised in the future and at the same time, there would be enhanced participation in the Film festivals abroad.
Inaugurating the Indian Panaroma film festival and the renovated facilities at the Siri Fort auditorium complex in Delhi, he claimed that the upgraded projection and sound facilities at Siri Fort Auditorium had positioned the venue amongst the top 50 auditoriums within the country that screened films for public viewing.
Organised by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the festival would screen 26 Feature Films and 15 Non-Feature Films. The Opening Film of the Festival was Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. The eight day festival would showcase all the films selected in the Indian Panorama section as part of the 45th International Film Festival of India, IFFI 2014. The Director of the opening film and lead actor Vinay Pathak were present on the occasion.
The renovated infrastructure reiterated the vision of the Ministry to establish world class viewing facilities for screening films that incorporated technical brilliance in totality. The Siri Fort auditorium had set high standards which were normally found in the corporate domain. The digital projection and Dolby sound system would enable cinema lovers to enjoy a memorable viewing of movies.
He said the films representing the Indian Panaroma section had a profound impact on the different International Film Festivals abroad. The effort would now focus on mainstreaming the impact of Indian Culture through the medium of Cinema.
I&B secretary Bimal Julka said the Indian Panaroma showcased high quality films abroad. The Panaroma section reiterated the power of Indian regional cinema. Films were the appropriate medium to celebrate India’s unity and diversity. The renovated facilities at Siri Fort had been done keeping in mind the needs of good viewing for cinema lovers.
The Siri Fort Auditorium has lately gone through a complete make-over with state-of-the-art equipments being installed in the complex. In the Plan Scheme 2013-2017, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has made these efforts to modernize the Projection and Sound System of all the Four Auditoriums here. In Audi-1 & 2, high-end Digital Cinema Projectors of 4K resolution have been installed, while other two small auditoriums (AUDI 3 & 4) now have the latest Digital Cinema Projectors of 2K resolution. Besides projection system, Cinema sound and PA systems have also been upgraded. The Ministry has spent nearly Rs five crore to make this prestigious Auditorium Complex of International standards.
Audi-2 is now equipped with the best digital cinema projection technology along with Silver Screen, 3-D Projection System and Dolby Atmos Sound System. Dolby Atmos is considered to be the best sound effects presently available in the globe and only a few theatres in India have this sound system. Besides, Siri Fort Complex has preserved the traditional 35 mm and 16 mm analogue projection to enjoy the old classics of Indian Cinema which are available in analogue format only. It makes the Complex equipped to project films in both digital and analogue formats.Besides technical upgradation, the security arrangements, auditorium roofs and sanitary fittings have also gone through re-modulling. Aesthetical upgradation of Auditorium –II has been done by providing new chairs, carpet and projection friendly look.
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.
