I&B Ministry joins hands with Amazon to promote Indian content on global stage

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I & B Ministry) on behalf of the Government of India, has signed an agreement with Amazon Prime to promote the cultural and creative talent and content at its command as part of the government’s bid to be a part of OTT revolution.

The Letter of Engagement was signed at The National Media Centre in New Delhi in presence of I&B Minister Anurag Thakur; Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy at Amazon India; Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Prime Video and Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership Thakur, stated that India has millions of untold stories that range from spirituality to software and from rural India to rising India.

"The partnership would help to strengthen industry-academia linkages through provisions for scholarships, internships, masterclasses, and other opportunities for students at Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India, and help to reduce the period of struggle for the talented artists coming out of prestigious film institutes of India," Thakur said in the statement.

Thakur added that the government recognizes the strengths and opportunities of the Indian entertainment industry, particularly new platforms like OTTs.

India has used various bodies set up by the government over a period of time to promote Indian films and culture in different ways, films through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and culture through programs made by or for the Films Division (FD).

Besides the FD and NFDC, the regimes also promoted, and continue to do so now, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The idea is to both expose foreign delegates to Indian films and the Indian audience to films from around the world.

Amazon and I&B Ministry will collaborate to promote creative talent, commence capacity-building measures and showcase Made in India creative content globally.

According to the agreement, skill-based masterclasses will be organised for the students of various film and TV institutes and 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow - an annual talent enrichment program under the umbrella of IFFI where 75 young, talented artists, to be selected by the ministry.

Iconic content from NFDC, Doordarshan and IFFI would be showcased on Prime Video and miniTV to commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. However, almost all the content that the Ministry calls iconic is available on various online portals such as YouTube.

Actor Varun Dhawan, who is set to star in the Indian chapter of Prime Video's "Citadel", said he is thrilled to witness the "landmark collaboration" between I&B ministry and Amazon.

"For any artist, the ultimate dream is to be recognized for our work. Thanks to streaming services like Prime Video, today, even people in the remotest corners of the world are dancing to our music and repeating our dialogues. A collaboration of this nature helps us all work towards redefining what it means to be an Indian on the global entertainment stage," he added.