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Maharashra government will draft a policy for the Entertainment Sector

The decision was taken by the State Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh at a meeting held with other officials from the ministry, and the responsibility to draft the policy has been given to the Cultural Affairs Department.

Maharashra government will draft a policy for the Entertainment Sector
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A large number of films, television series, commercials and documentaries in Marathi, Hindi and other regional languages are made in the state of Maharashtra. Keeping this in mind,  the state has decided to prepare a policy on the entertainment sector, and the responsibility has been given to the Cultural Affairs Department.

Information regarding the plan was given by State Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh, at a meeting held with the Board of Directors of Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (Film City). Present at the meeting were Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar, Managing Director of Chitranagari Manisha Verma, Secretary of Cultural Affairs Saurabh Vijay, Joint Managing Director of Chitranagari Aanchal Goyal and other officials.

Addressing the same, Minister Deshmukh said that the entertainment sector, today, has expanded to a large extent, and it was necessary for the state to have a policy regarding the same. The policy will include guidelines for films, TV serials, OTT shows or web series, theatre, folk art, documentaries, advertisements and other aspects, and will be prepared for the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari.

The draft policy will be presented to the Cabinet after it is submitted to the Cultural Affairs Department. Minister also said that the entertainment sector provides employment to many, and the sector needs to be given the status of the industry. Moreover, concessions to small and medium enterprises should also be considered, and the necessary action will be taken by the Cultural Affairs Department to declare the same.

He also emphasised on expanding the Single Window Scheme and understanding the same better by deciding If the permits issued by the Central and State Governments can be granted in one place. Moreover, officials are also looking at including tourist destinations in Maharashtra which are not known to the visitors, so that these can have special features and mentions.

Currently, a plan is being implemented in Mumbai and Mumbai suburbs; and will be expanded further in Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Satara, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, in the second phase. Remaining districts of Maharashtra will be cleared in the third phase. 

The state was under a strict lockdown from March 2020, keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in mind. This has impacted the entertainment industry as the shoots were stopped and the studios were locked. Permission to resume the shoot was granted after June 25 under Mission Begin Again guidelines, however, several producers had reserved studios in the Chitranagari (film city) but were not able to use as the filming was not permitted. Considering this, they had demanded a reduction in the rent charged, and addressing their issues, the government has offered a discount of up to 25 per cent or asked them to choose new dates for filming.

Various issues such as efforts to increase revenue, the appointment of technical experts and skilled manpower, the formation of panels, reduction of cost, the appointment of Chief Security Officer, the opening of restaurants, the commencement of internships, improvement of rental concessions system and others were also discussed at the board meeting.

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