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Covid has affected a Central scheme meant for promoting foreign collaboration in film production
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had started a new scheme a couple years back, called Champion Services Sector Scheme (CSSS), which was aimed at promoting co-production of films with foreign countries, allowing shooting of foreign films in India and organising global media events.
However as the Coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdowns halted all film shooting activities and prolonged the shutdown of cinema screens across the country since March 2020, the primary objectives of the scheme have taken a hit and this has reflected in its budgetary allocation for 2021-22, which stood at a paltry Rs 1.59 crore.
This is in stark contrast to the budgetary estimate for the scheme in 2020-21, when it was Rs 30 crore, whereas the revised estimate was Rs 3.80 crore.
Sources in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have said that due to low allocation of funds for the current fiscal, the main focus areas of the scheme like incentivising co-production with foreign countries, facilitating foreign films’ shooting in India and organising film seminars, will be severely affected.
Highly placed sources said that the reason behind low allocation of funds for CSSS was also the fact that hardly any money was spent on it out of the funds allotted for the previous fiscal, i.e. 2020-21.
The ministry sources however said that as the film industry in India is seriously hampered due to scarcity of screens across the country, it plans to use the Rs 1.59 crore allotted for the scheme for setting up a fund for conducting workshops for willing entrepreneurs who are interested in setting up theatres in tier-II and tier-III towns of the country.
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