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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Govt to revamp Cinematograph Act, impose fines to curb piracy
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Govt to revamp Cinematograph Act, impose fines to curb piracy

The government also plans to revamp the film and television institutes in Pune and Kolkata

Raghvendra Singh, joint secretary of films in the ministry of information and broadcasting, says the multiplexes contribute the maximum to the box office collections, and they are growing to the tune of 150-200 screens per year. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
Raghvendra Singh, joint secretary of films in the ministry of information and broadcasting, says the multiplexes contribute the maximum to the box office collections, and they are growing to the tune of 150-200 screens per year. Photo: Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The government is working to overhaul the archaic Cinematograph Act, 1952, incorporating provisions to curb piracy and impose stiff penalties for violations, an official said on Monday.

An initiative to bring about awareness of piracy issues is also on the cards, the official said.

“We had a Cinematograph Act of the early 1950s, where there is no mention of television, and now that we get more than 30-40% of our revenues—which is set to increase—for the films which get released on television. We are in the process of completely revamping and overhauling the Act," said Raghvendra Singh, joint secretary of films in the ministry of information and broadcasting.

“A lot of spadework has already been done. We have gone to Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and have interacted very intensively (with the stakeholders). The areas where we are looking to concentrate are stiff penalties and provisions to curtail piracy," said Singh.

Singh was speaking at “Screens 2014", a media industry conference organized by industry lobby group Assocham.

The Act was originally formulated for the certification of cinematograph films for exhibition and regulating exhibitions by means of cinematographs.

The government, Singh said, was aware that some states levy entertainment taxes on top of value added tax and service tax. These get added up, pushing up production costs, which do not get offset by ticket sales.

“We are completely sensitized to this whole issue," added Singh.

The government will also revamp the film and television institutes in Pune and Kolkata, by “acquiring world-class equipment and also by expanding our network to other geographies", added Singh.

The Indian film industry stands at the eighth position globally in terms of box office collections, he said.

“The multiplexes contribute the maximum to our box office collections, and they are growing to the tune of 150-200 screens per year. In terms of theatrical revenues, we have 24% year-on-year growth that the film industry is currently witnessing," he said.

The industry, Singh added, is expected to growth at 10-12% in the next two decades.

The ministry has also set up the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM).

“This is basically to make an assessment of all the films which need immediate preservation and restoration," said Singh.

Members of the film fraternity will advise on the process of procurement of these films, Singh added.

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Published: 24 Jun 2014, 12:25 AM IST
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