Single window service for cinema tourism will be operational soon: I&B Minister

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Manish Tewari on Saturday announced that a single window service for promoting cinema tourism is all set to become operational shortly.

Further, Tewari informed that a Committee on Promotion and Facilitation of Film Production in India has been set up, which is chaired by the Secretary, Information & Broadcasting, with senior representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, Home Affairs; Tourism; Culture; Railways; Civil Aviation; Defence and  Department of Revenue.
Also, he continued, the State Governments have been asked to nominate the nodal officers for film clearance. Standard Operating Procedures are being developed to accord clearances for film shooting by domestic and foreign producers in India, he added.

The Union minister was speaking at the Cinemascape 2013 conclave here wherein he observed that India with its rich heritage and diverse geography has great potential as a destination for film shooting, but the current system of multiple clearances at various levels made it an unattractive destination for filming. “Increasingly therefore, most Indian filmmakers have gravitated towards foreign destinations for outdoor shoots. Any lost opportunity is a revenue loss for the country” he remarked.

 Participating in a panel discussion, noted film maker Mukesh Bhatt said all together 76 different permissions have to be obtained for film shooting in India, while Indian producers are given a red carpet welcome in some of the cine-tourism nations like Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. However, Bhatt acknowledged that the Ministry’s effort is a welcome first step.

 On the New Cinematograph Act, the Minister stressed on the need for a sound legal architecture for promoting cinema as a form of creative expression.  While conceding that law and order is a state subject, Tewari said, film certification falls in the central domain. “There is an urgent need to update laws relating to film certification and exhibition and I am happy to inform that the committee headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal has submitted its recommendation along with a model bill to replace the existing Cinematograph Act 1952,” Tewari added.

He informed that recommendations of the committee as well as the model Bill will be published on the website of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to seek wider public consultation. The Minister assured the film fraternity that by the middle of 2014, India would have a contemporary law to deal with cinema.