Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Wednesday inked a partnership with Amazon India. The ministry in a press release said that the Letter of Engagement (LoE) will lead to a multidimensional partnership between the various organisations under the Ministry and various verticals of Amazon.
These include the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Prasar Bharati, Publications Division, and the media training institutions of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) on the government’s side. On Amazon's side, the LoE involves the participation of Amazon Prime Video, Alexa, Amazon Music, Amazon e-marketplace, and IMDb.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Anurag Thakur said that the agreement will reduce the struggle period for talent from film institutes. He said the partnership would help strengthen industry-academia linkages through provisions for scholarships, internships, masterclasses, and other opportunities for students at the Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India.
The Minister also voiced his concern for the quality of content on OTT platforms saying OTT platforms have the responsibility of ensuring that their platforms do not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as creative expressions. OTT must reflect the collective conscience of the country, he further added.
Also present at the event, Varun Dhawan spoke about the depths being reached by streaming services and said Indian cinema by way of streaming is now reaching a world stage and streaming services have today given Indian content a reach hitherto unimaginable. Dhawan said, “new actors and creators, talent that had so far remained on sidelines can now connect with audiences worldwide.”
“The collaboration of such a nature that promotes and supports our industry and talent fills me with hope and helps us all work towards redefining what is meant to be an Indian on the global entertainment stage,” he added.
Agreement Between I&B Ministry And Amazon
The Letter of Engagement (LoE) leads to a multidimensional partnership between the various organizations under the Ministry and various verticals of Amazon. These include the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Prasar Bharati, Publications Division, and the media training institutions of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) on the Government’s side. On Amazon's side, the LoE involves the participation of Amazon Prime Video, Alexa, Amazon Music, Amazon e-marketplace, and IMDb.
The Letter of Engagement with Amazon also includes aspects of the promotion of Indian heritage through a dedicated catalog of Publication Division’s books on India’s culture on the Amazon e-commerce website, and promotion of Indian music on Amazon Music and Alexa, the ministry said in a statement.
Speeches of the President and Prime Minister, content related to key events of national importance and public interest campaigns, and daily news bulletins would be disseminated through Alexa and Amazon Music, it added.
Promotion of Indian Talent
As part of the talent development component, Amazon Prime Video (APV) would sponsor scholarships, create internship programmes, and offer job opportunities for students of FTII and SRFTI. APV would undertake skill-building activities in partnership with NFDC, conduct masterclasses by Indian and international film personalities in academic institutions for the media and entertainment industry, and launch initiatives for honing the talent of the winners of the ‘75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’ program, the ministry said.
To increase the global discoverability of Indian talent Amazon would work with NFDC to increase the ease of availability of information about Indian artists on IMDb, a global database for the creative industry.
Showcasing Indian Content On Global Stage
As part of the collaboration with the Ministry, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Award-winning films, and films produced as part of India’s international co-production treaties would be onboarded by Amazon Prime Video for being available to a global audience. APV would also explore possibilities for the development of films and web series highlighting India’s achievements to the world.
APV and MiniTV would onboard the rich archival content owned by Prasar Bharati and NFDC for easy access to the youth of the country and across the world. Amazon would continue to collaborate with NFDC for featuring content, technology exhibitions, creator workshops, and talent interactions at the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and regional film festivals.