Number of cinemas woefully low, says panel set up for measures to improve ranking

Do we need more cinema screens? Yes, according to a task force set up on the directions of Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

It observes that the number of cinema screens in India is woefully low and says that steps must be taken to open new screens across the country, especially in the remote areas. The task force was set up to suggest measures to enhance the innovation ecosystem in India and thus improve India’s ranking in the the Global Innovation Index (GII). Noting India’s ranking of 54 out of 128 countries in the GII 2016 in the parameter of ‘national feature films produced’, the task force recommended that in order to improve the country’s prospects, steps should be taken by State governments to incentivise new screens as also conversion of single screen theatres into multi-screen complexes.

“Having more screens will give an incentive to produce more films,” said the task force, comprising government officials, experts from private organisations and academia. The panel included Rajiv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Naushad Forbes, Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall, Gopichand Katragadda, Group Chief Technology Officer and Innovation Head for Tata Sons, and Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakri-shnan, Chairman of Axilor Ventures, among others.

More participation

To improve India’s ranking from 45th in the indicator ‘cultural & creative services exports’ (in the GII 2016), the task force said steps should be taken towards encouraging participation in exhibitions and events conducted worldwide.