OTT platforms must not propagate vulgarity as creative expression: Anurag Thakur

At an event to announce a partnership between the I&B Ministry and Amazon India in the field of media and entertainment, Thakur voiced his concern for the quality of OTT content, adding “they must reflect the collective conscience of the country”.

Written by Divya A

New Delhi | Updated: April 6, 2023 02:19 AM IST

3 min read

Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, actor Varun Dhawan and others during an event to announce a partnership between the Ministry and Amazon India. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)

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OTT platforms have the responsibility of ensuring that “they do not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as creative expression,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday.

At an event to announce a partnership between the Ministry and Amazon India in the field of media, entertainment and public awareness, Thakur voiced his concern over the quality of content on OTT platforms, adding “they must reflect the collective conscience of the country”.

Also Read | Vulgarity, abusive language unacceptable on OTT, will take tough action: I&B minister Anurag Thakur

The “multidimensional partnership” involves various arms of the I&B Ministry and several verticals of Amazon such as Amazon Prime Video, Alexa, Amazon Music, Amazon e-marketplace, and IMDb. Under the collaboration, Amazon would put out a dedicated catalogue of the Publication Division’s books on Indian culture on their e-commerce website, and promote Indian music on Amazon Music and Alexa.

Besides, speeches of the President and the Prime Minister, and content related to “key events of national importance and public interest campaigns, and daily news bulletins” would also be disseminated through Alexa and Amazon Music.

Besides content sharing, the partnership also entails scholarships, internships and masterclasses for students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India (SRFTI). For instance, Amazon Prime Video will now sponsor scholarships, internship programmes, and offer job opportunities for students of FTII and SRFTI.

Amazon Prime Video will also “explore films and web-series highlighting India’s achievements to the world”, and make available International Film Festival of India (IFFI) award-winning films, and films produced as part of India’s international co-production treaties, to the global audience.

Amazon will also work with NFDC to increase the ease of availability of information about Indian artists on IMDb, a global database for the creative industry, officials said. It will also showcase archival content owned by Prasar Bharati and NFDC across the country, and for the audience abroad.

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The Union minister also enumerated steps taken by the government “to create a conducive atmosphere for the entertainment industry in India”. The Ministry has recognised audio-visual services as a Champion Services Sector and recently brought out the self-regulatory framework of OTT content regulation, he added.

Also present at the event were senior officials of the Ministry, actor Varun Dhawan and Amazon officials.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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