Sharma assures new institutes, ungradation for film industry

Panaji, Nov 22 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma today said a national Centre of Excellence for gaming, animation and visual effects along with a Moving Image Museum will be set up at Mumbai.

Inaugurating the ''India-The Big Picture'' Conference, organised by Confederation of Indian Industries as part of the International Film Festival of India 2008 (IFFI 2008), he said that there were plans to upgrade the Films and TV Institute of India, Pune and new streams of courses would be added to meet the demand in the emerging areas.

Mr Sharma assured that the National Film Archive of India would be upgraded for preserving classic films.

Stating that the film industry was the most unifying bond amongst Indians, he said the industry could help in the development of the tourism sector in the country.

He stressed on utilisation of domestic landscapes and sceneries as locations to promote India as an international shooting destination. Mr Sharma also assured all help in boosting the media and entertainment industry in the country.

Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat said an ideal location for establishing world class infrastructure for shooting would be identified in the state.

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