Uday Shankar promises to leverage FICCI platform for M&E industry

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has recently announced that Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India will be chairman of its Media and Entertainment panel. The place was vacant since the demise of the earlier chairman , Yash Chopra, in October.

Under the Media and Entertainment Committee, there are various forums that focus on different fields of entertainment, including FICCI Broadcast Forum, FICCI Films Forum, FICCI Radio Forum, FICCI Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comics (AVGC) Forum, FICCI Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and FICCI Digital Forum, amongst others.

Kunal Dasgupta and Sony TV were a part of the founding members' team of FICCI Frames, the annual symposium based on the television and film industry. Singh, is the successor of Dasgupta. He says that in his new role, he will try to highlight the business angle of the entertainment industry in the festival.

"It will be very encouraging for the industry to have discussions and panels focusing on the business side of films and television industry. Ultimately, it will help the industry grow," he adds.

As for the digitisation that is taking place in the country right now, Singh feels that FICCI, along with the whole industry, is working towards the transition.

Shankar will be the chairman of the M&E Committee, while Ramesh Sippy and Karan Johar will continue to be the co-chairs. Yash Copra had chaired the committee since 2002. Shankar says that it is an honour to take over from someone like Chopra.

He adds, "I believe that M&E can and should be many times bigger, if both Bollywood and media can get the right policy support. I hope to leverage the FICCI platform to facilitate that."

"We will work with all industry stakeholders closely to formulate an agenda for sustained growth of the burgeoning entertainment sector and hold regular and meaningful dialogues with policy makers,"

states Shankar.

FICCI M&E Committee represents stakeholders in the media and entertainment industry. It has played a vital role in achieving several milestones in the past decade.