Govt to come up with SOP for shooting films in India in wake of COVID-19 pandemic

New Delhi, July 07: The government is coming up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for shooting films in India in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and is also set to provide incentives for production to accelerate restarting of film-making, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday.

Speaking through a video link at the virtual inauguration of ''FICCI FRAMES 2020'', a convention on the business of entertainment, Javadekar said all stakeholders need to work together to make progress and harness the soft power of India -- media and entertainment.

"Government is coming up with a standard operating procedure for shooting films in India in the light of the pandemic," the Information and Broadcasting minister said.

"Further, to accelerate the restart of film-making that had come to a standstill as a result of COVID, it is also coming up with incentives of production in all sectors, including TV serials, film-making, co-production, animation, gaming. We will be announcing these measures shortly," he said.

Javadekar also said that more than 80 foreign film producers have taken advantage of the film facilitation office.

They have got a single window clearance for shooting their films in India, Javadekar said.

He said the discussions at ''FICCI FRAMES'' would certainly throw up new and innovative ideas that can be acted upon.

India enjoys a huge cost advantage in content creation and Indian content is being watched in over 150 countries worldwide, Javadekar said.

Virtual inaugurations are the new normal and those virtual spaces are the new places for real partnerships, he said.

Participating in a technical session, Secretary, Information & Broadcasting, Amit Khare, said in films, the role of the government should be that of a facilitator.

"Different regulatory structures must be brought in sync to ensure less regulation," he said.

Khare also said that the government was fully in support of granting infrastructure status to the media and entertainment industry and added that some definitions need to be fine tuned.

FICCI Frames Virtual Summit , which will be on till July 11, will see leading experts of the industry exchange views and ideas on various aspects of media and entertainment sector. Italy is the focus country of FICCI-Frames 2020.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the annual gathering of the Media and Entertainment Industry is being held in a virtual mode, instead of its usual location by the Powai Lake in Mumbai.