MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, OCT 10: In a significant move, the government on Wednesday notified that the entertainment industry, including films, has been recognised, under the IDBI Act, 1964, as an approved activity under `industrial concern'. The Finance Ministry notification was released after the Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Wednesday that funding for the film industry would be easier from now on. After films was given the industry status in May 1998, this is probably the most major announcement for the entertainment industry. Getting approval under the IDBI Act indicates that the industry can now access bank loans and other facilities available to other industries. ``Although the film sector was given industry status earlier, banks and institutions were keeping away from this segment due to several technical and practical problems,'' said a banker. Sushma Swaraj who addressed a meeting of film industry representatives in Mumbai on Thursday said that accessing finances would soon become easier for them. According to a Ministry of Finance official, the notification is significant because till now the IDBI Act was the stumbling block in granting finances to this industry. Now that the industry has been recognised as an `industrial concern' under the IDBI Act, the industry can easily access loans from IDBI.More important, with the IDBI showing the way, other financial institutions such as the ICICI and IFCI, which are companies under the Companies Act, are also expected to jump in the fray. For the industry, it is a win-win development. The COO of Jain TV, Mr Sunil Gupta, said it's a very positive development, which has been long awaited. ``It will not only lead to quality production, but will also help get the industry serious players. Another good thing about getting easy finance is that the underworld, for which the film industry is infamous, will get sidelined,'' he said. TV channels will also benefit from the move, according to Mr Gupta. For instance, software export will become easier for them. He elaborated: ``Now that many of the foreign channels are becoming India-centric, money for software export will be easy to come by for the Indian channels.''
