The problem begins when one looks back at the very reason for the setting up of FICCI Frames. The point of Frames was to discuss and thrash out issues affecting the media and entertainment industries and to try and come to a common resolution among the decision makers in the industry so that they could lobby for the changes at a higher level. The trouble begins when almost all the speakers seem to have the same thing to say. Cutting a long rosy story short, India is booming, Indians are making a success of themselves domestically and abroad and this is the best time to invest in India. Young India is wired and will lead the digital revolution
in the country, faster than we expect. We all watched wide eyed as some of the speakers showed clippings of what the digital future holds for all of us. If that's really what awaits us all, are we preparing for it? We have all heard of the broad rosy picture but what about the micro issues that plague or confound the industry? Why aren't people discussing piracy issues, the debate on Foreign Direct Investment, the shortage of talent, the need for rules and regulations in the "emerging" outdoor industry, the urgency to find a solution to the vexatious television distribution business, the blow hot, blow cold CAS policy, issues on censorship and certification of television content, self-regulation on news content, the need to raise the prices of all forms of content? One could go on listing pressing matters of a specific nature - why couldn't FICCI do the same? More...