FICCI Recommendations For UNLOCK 3.0: Vigilance Is The Core

• Time to consider easing the prohibitions in aviation, sports, schools and tourism sectors 

NEW DELHI, 27 July 2020: As the world continues to battle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that a strategy of long-term total lockdown is simply unsustainable for most economies. As lockdown orders continue to be enforced in many parts of the country, businesses and livelihoods are under tremendous pressure due to the collapsed demand, layoffs, and wage reductions.

Towards this, the Government of India has proactively responded to the concerns raised by both citizenry and industry to enable staggered reopening of the economy. As we approach the end of ‘Unlock 2’ on July 31, 2020 and prepare ourselves for ‘Unlock 3’,  we need to look at lifting of existing restrictions keeping in mind 'Threat of COVID is not over yet and we need to remain vigilant'.

Vigilance is the core of FICCI Recommendations for Unlock 3.0.

FICCI, in consultation with industry experts, has prepared this document to present solutions on how sectors such as aviation, sports, tourism, which still has some prohibitions, can best contribute towards the national effort of containing the spread of COVID and rebuilding the economy. FICCI recommends that it is now time to consider easing the prohibitions placed on these sectors, provided businesses follow the guidelines laid out in this document to the fullest. The Paper also recommends opening up of Cinemas and multiplexes, with adherence to all possible safety precautions. FICCI recommendations also contain the proposed SOPs, which could be followed for opening up of multiplexes.

Government may decide to open educational institutions and schools depending on the local situation of COVID cases, keeping in mind the safety of children. In case Government decides to open schools, FICCI recommends strong adherence to safety protocols and SOPs. Such detailed SOPs are proposed in the recommendations. Till the schools are closed, it is recommended that a proper digital teaching framework may be put in place so that the learning is not impacted. The document also contains the Recommended Remote Delivery Execution Framework for Schools. 

Adil Hussain in candid conversation with FICCI FLO

Art has no Boundaries

-         Adil Hussain in candid conversation with FICCI FLO 

Mumbai, 3^rd July 2020: FLO, the Women’s Wing of FICCI organized an interactive session with, Adil Hussain known for his critically acclaimed performances in award winning films such as Ang Lee's Oscar winning Life of Pi, Subhashish Bhutiani's Hotel Salvation/Mukti Bhavan and Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Adil’s Meal won the best short at Indie Meme Festival at Austin in the USA this May 2020. He also performed in Bollywood movies like English Vinglish, Lootera, Aiyaary, Kaminey, Good Newzz etc.

In conversation Adil said “Acting is all about embodying another personality and portraying it in front of a camera. If one focuses on the craft and goes deeper into the understanding the art of acting, the byproducts are inspirational. I have never aimed to be at the top but have always aimed to act well instead.”

He humbly put together on winning the Award by Norway government, “In India if you are outsider you can’t win a National Award, but I was surprised when Norway Government given me their award. Art should cross all boundaries and there should not be any restrictions”.

On Nepotism in Bollywood Adil said “It exists in every sphere of life, so does in Bollywood. If someone does not have merit and they are being pushed for certain advantages because they are from certain family then that is nepotism. In India we do not have the structure in place for the casting of a particular character unlike west which leads to nepotism to an extent”.

In a Q&A session with FLO members he expressed his keen interest in doing movies in Assam for which he is in touch with Rima Das and hopefully soon they will work together.

Jahnabi Phookan, National President FLO said, “FLO is the most apt platform to connect, learn and grow. We recognize and celebrate the success stories of inspirational personalities who break all stereotypes and are role models for others. Adil’s talent has truly transcended geographical boundaries and language barriers. We organized this interaction to learn more and be inspired by Adil Hussain’s journey from a stand-up comedian to a theater artist to an internationally acclaimed actor.”

About FICCI FLO

FLO is the women wing of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). FLO was established in 1983, as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) which is the apex body of industry and commerce in India. FLO has been promoting entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women through workshops, seminars, conferences, training and capacity building programmers etc. As an All India Organisation for women, FLO has 17 Chapters pan India - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Northeast, Pune, Amritsar, Northeast & Uttarakhand, with its Head Office in New Delhi.  Its members comprise of entrepreneurs, professionals and Corporate Executives.

Mr Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India to inaugurate and address via YouTube Link

Mr Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India to inaugurate and address Cannes Film Market 2020

3.00 PM (IST), Monday, June 22, 2020  

YouTube Link for inaugural session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8wOoZrCqOE

The Cannes film festival is undoubtedly the world’s largest and most powerful film festival. India has been participating in this festival for many years now. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India has been actively working with the festival to take Indian films and content to the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the festival for the first time, will be organized online.

FICCI has been managing the Indian Pavilion on behalf of the ministry since 2014, however given the COVID-19 situation, the India Pavilion will be organized virtually as the part of the virtual Cannes Film Market from June 22nd-26th 2020.

Hon’ble Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, Mr Prakash Javadekar will virtually inaugurate the Virtual India Pavilion at 1500 hrs IST on Monday, June 22, 2020.

Program Schedule:

Day & Date:	Monday, 22nd June 2020
Time:	1500 hrs
YouTube Link for Inaugural Session:	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8wOoZrCqOE

 Even in the virtual space, the pavilion is showcasing Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional spheres and aims at forging an increasing number of international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication.

The India Pavilion would serve as an information dissemination point about India and the Indian cinema for the global film community. The pavilion would also facilitate business meetings and linkages between filmmakers and other media and entertainment industry stakeholders.

During June 22 - 26, 2020, the India Pavilion is organising various sessions on areas of topical interest: Future of films in a post COVID world, Come, Film in India, Taking Indian Content to Global Markets: Importance and Role of film festivals in the age of Digital Platforms, Export of Indian Film Services to the world/Servicing the World Entertainment, and Reenergising co-productions.

Three roundtables, with Film Commissions, Film Festivals and Film Funds are also set to be organised to discuss threadbare the ideas on promoting Indian films and to anchor partnerships between the domestic and global media & entertainment industry players.

India Pavilion will also organise two film screenings: Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/200 (Marathi) and Hellaro (Gujarati).

Also, to mark the centenary year of the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the Virtual India Pavilion is showcasing some of his exquisite work: Ganashatru, Ghare Baire, Agantuk, and Music of Satyajit Ray at the Pavilions website. The virtual India Pavilion could be accessed at www.indiaatcannes.in

A number of achievers, stakeholders of the media & entertainment industry, and senior government officials would also attend the inaugural session at the virtual India Pavilion:

•          Mr Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Government of India

•          Mr Atul Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Government of India

•          Ms TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of I&B, Government of India and MD, NFDC, Government of India

•          Ms Shrila Dutta Kumar, Minister (Consular) Embassy of India to France

•          Mr Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CBFC

•          Ms Michele Waterhouse, Head – Coordination, Marche Du Film, Cannes Film Market

•          Mr Madhur Bhandarkar, National Award-winning Director

•          Mr D Suresh Babu, National Representative, Active Telugu Film makers Guild

•          Mr Colin Burrows, Special Treats Productions

•          Ms Kangana Ranaut, Film Personality

•          Ms Usha Jadhav, Actor, Mai Ghat

•          Ms Shraddha Dangar, Actor, Hellaro

India and Myanmar Explore Collaboration Opportunities in Women Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Livelihoods

• Representatives of FICCI FLO, Indian Embassy in Myanmar, India Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs’ Association (MWEA) discuss partnership opportunities

New Delhi, June 13, 2020. Creating a roadmap for exploring opportunities for collaboration between Indian and Myanmar to empower women entrepreneurs and generate sustainable livelihoods for women was discussed at webinar organised by the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO). The interactive session was organised in partnership with the Indian Embassy in Myanmar, India Myanmar Chamber of Commerce (IMCC) and Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs’ Association (MWEA). H.E. Mr. Saurabh Kumar, IFS, Ambassador of India to Myanmar and Mr. Sunil Seth, President of India Myanmar Chamber of Commerce talked about growing business opportunities between the two countries.

Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi’s Act East policy focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region. Its primary objective is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.

The policy which was originally (1992) envisaged as an economic initiative, has now gained political, strategic and cultural dimensions including establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation thereby clearly highlighting the new approach of India.

Speaking on the webinar H.E. Mr. Saurabh Kumar, IFS, Ambassador of India to Myanmar said “The cultural exchanges and historical contacts between our two countries are the base and core of our relationship. India and Myanmar both are part of BIMSTEC and Myanmar is the only country which comes under the ambits of our two foreign policies initiatives “Act East and Neighbourhood first”. Now we need to focus more on the business interactions and trade between the two countries”.

Giving a background to this webinar, FLO President Jahnabi Phookan said, “It gives me great pleasure to start our Dialogue Series with Myanmar first, among our Bimstec countries. In this new decade of 2020’s, let us forge ahead to work together for business opportunities and explore the potential for livelihood-linked and entrepreneurship-driven market forces to build a strong economic alliance for our women and create a cadre of women leaders in both our countries.

Sustainability as the way forward for a Self-Reliant India and that People, Planet and Profits can certainly co-exist together. Keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, we want to take forward the 3 C’s for Myanmar: Commerce, Communication and Culture.

These are unprecedented times and we are all fighting the unseen enemy of Covid19. Sustainability has taken centre stage to create livelihood-linked and entrepreneurship-driven enterprises by women. Women must strive to be job creators and not job seekers”

She added, “This session opens up a new door of opportunity of collaboration between the women entrepreneurs of India and Myanmar. With active support from Indian Embassy in Myanmar, IMCC & (MWEA), we are hopeful that we can create a roadmap towards creating business opportunities, areas for collaboration and also mentoring women from India and Myanmar”.

Mr. Sunil Seth, President of India Myanmar Chamber of Commerce said, “IMCC started 2 years back and we have around 119 members from Indian and Myanmar companies. Both India and Myanmar are fast developing economy, we see a great potential in trade between these two countries and there are many sectors and industries where we can work together for improving business relations and community engagements”. 

Ms. Khin Thet Maw, General Secretary, MWEA said “Our Association promotes women entrepreneurs by training, coaching and mentoring them. We also volunteer to support and motivate school girls towards education”.

Dharitri Patnaik, Chairperson FLO Bhubaneshwar Chapter was the Day Chair said, “We aim to explore partnership opportunities between the Women Chamber of Commerce of India and Myanmar, to come up with collaborative platform to help Women Entrepreneurs in creating sustainable livelihoods”.

Some other eminent members of FLO and MWEA also shared industry specific inputs during the webinar.

About FICCI FLO

FLO is the women wing of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). FLO was established in 1983, as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) which is the apex body of industry and commerce in India. FLO has been promoting entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women through workshops, seminars, conferences, training and capacity building programmers etc. As an All India Organisation for women, FLO has 17 Chapters pan India - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Northeast, Pune, Amritsar, Northeast & Uttarakhand, with its Head Office in New Delhi.  Its me

Media and entertainment industry in 2019 grew by almost 9% to reach INR 1.82 trillion: FICCI - EY Report 2020

MUMBAI, 27 March 2020:

1. The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector reached INR1.82 trillion (US$25.7 billion) in 2019, a growth of ~9% over 2018 states the FICCI EY report ‘The era of consumer A.R.T. – Acquisition Retention and Transaction,’ launched today. With its current trajectory, the M&E sector in India is expected to cross INR2.4 trillion (US$34 billion) by 2022, at a CAGR of 10%*.

2. While television and print retained their positions as the two largest segments, digital media overtook filmed entertainment in 2019 to become the third largest segment of the M&E sector. Digital subscription revenues more than doubled from 2018 levels and digital advertising revenues grew to command 24% of total advertising spend.

3. The sector continues to grow at a rate faster than the GDP, driven primarily by growth in subscription-based business models and India’s attractiveness as a content production and post production destination.

4. The rapid proliferation of mobile access is enabling on-demand, anytime-anywhere content consumption nationwide. With a population of 1.3 billion, a tele-density approaching 89% of households, 688 million internet subscribers and nearly 400 million smartphone users, India’s telecom industry is poised to become the primary platform for content distribution and consumption. India ranks as one of the fastest-growing app markets globally, where entertainment apps are driving significant consumer engagement.

5. Online gaming retained its position as the fastest growing segment on the back of transaction-based games mainly fantasy sports, increased in-app purchases and a 31% growth in the number of online gamers to reach around 365 million.

Mr Uday Shankar, Vice President, FICCI and Chair, FICCI Media and Entertainment Division, said, “Riding the wave of exponential progress made towards digital accessibility and adoption, the M&E industry has been a forerunner of a dynamic and aspirational India. New products and business models are being imagined to capitalize on the rise in media consumption. Global players are recognizing the need to build India-centric offerings. The coming years are likely to usher in greater innovation in content formats, means of dissemination, and business models.”

Mr Ashish Pherwani, Partner and Media & Entertainment Leader, EY India, stated, “The M&E sector witnessed a surge in content consumption as digital infrastructure, quantum of content produced and per-capita income increased in 2019.  Driven by the ability to create direct-to-customer relationships, the sector firmly pivoted towards a B2C operating model, changing the way it measured itself. As entertainment and information options grew and choice increased the era of consumer Acquisition, Retention and Transaction (ART) redefined the media value chain leading to the emergence of many new trends and strategies across content, distribution, consumption and monetization.”

“The coronavirus outbreak will have a significant adverse impact on the sector, the situation is still evolving both in India and many parts of the world, the scale of the impact cannot be estimated immediately,” he added.

Key findings

• Television:

The TV industry grew from INR 740 billion to INR 788 billion in 2019, a growth of 6.5%. TV advertising grew 5% to INR 320 billion while subscription grew 7% to INR 468 billion. Regional channels benefited from the New Tariff Order as their consumption increased by over 20% in certain cases. General entertainment and movie channels led with 74% of viewership. On the back of several key announcements by the central and state governments such as Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a general election, the news genre witnessed a growth to almost 9% of total viewership, up from 7.3% in 2018. In sports cricket emerged as the big winner in 2019 as it accounted for over 80% of the sports viewership, up from 70% last year, due to the ICC World Cup.

Key insights - Television will remain the largest earner of advertising revenues even in 2025, approaching INR570 billion. Viewership of regional language channels will continue to grow and reach 55% of total viewership in India as their content quality improves further. Content viewed on smart TV sets will begin to reflect that consumed on mobile phones, providing a window for user generated content companies and other non-broadcasters to serve content on the connected television screen.

• Print:

Despite a 3% revenue degrowth at INR 296 billion, print continued to retain the second largest share of the Indian M&E sector. Circulation revenues increased by 2% to INR 90 billion as newspaper companies tactically increased prices in certain markets. Advertising revenues fell 5% to INR 206 billion in 2019 as AdEX volumes fell by 8%. Margins improved as newsprint cost measures were implemented and companies benefited from the reduction of newsprint prices.

Key insights – 2019 witnessed a significant growth in digital news consumers over 2018 when 300 million Indians consumed news online. Most large print companies had a defined digital business, with two companies crossing INR1 billion in digital revenues. Digital subscription, though nascent, has increased as several publications have put digital products behind a paywall.

·         Digital media:

In 2019, digital media grew 31% to reach INR 221 billion and is expected to grow at 23% CAGR to reach INR 414 billion by 2022. Digital advertising grew 24% to INR 192 billion driven by increased consumption of content on digital platforms and marketeers’ preference to measure performance. SME and long tail advertisers increased their spends on digital media as well.  Pay digital subscribers crossed 10 million for the first time as sports and other premium content were put behind a paywall.  Consequently, subscription revenue grew 106% to INR 29 billion. Digital consumption grew across platforms where video viewers increased by 16%, audio streamers by 33% and news consumers by 22%.

Key insights: By 2020, OTT subscription market will approximate 10% of the total TV subscription market (without, however, considering data charges).  We estimate over 40 million connected TVs by 2025, which will provide a huge opportunity for content creators to reach family consumers.  Better bandwidth will drive large screen consumption. By 2025, 750 million smart phone screens will also increase the demand for regional, UGC and short content, creating a short video ecosystem that can create significant employment.  The battle for content discovery will intensity and move to the unified interface.

·         Films:

The Indian film segment grew 10% in 2019 to reach INR 191 billion driven by the growth in domestic theatrical revenues and both rates and volume of digital/ OTT rights sold. Domestic film revenues crossed INR 115 billion with Gross Box Office collections for Hindi films at INR 49.5 billion – the highest ever for Hindi theatricals. Overseas theatricals revenues fell 10% to INR 27 billion despite more films being released abroad primarily as films with superstars didn’t perform as well in 2019. 108 Hollywood films were released in 2019 as compared to 98 in 2018. The gross box office collections of Hollywood films in India (inclusive of all their Indian language dubbed versions) grew 33% to reach INR 16 billion. As single screens continued to reduce, the total screen count decreased by 74 to 9,527

Key Insights: Digital rights continued to grow in 2019 with an increase in revenues from INR13.5 billion in 2018 to INR 19 billion in 2019. Digital release windows shortened with some movies releasing on OTT platforms even before their release on television. In-cinema advertising grew marginally to INR 7.7 billion in 2019 as multiplexes and advertising aggregators started signing long-term deals with brands. Seventeen hindi films entered the coveted INR 100 crore club in 2019, which is the highest ever. Interestingly, six movies made it to the INR 200 crore club in 2019, as opposed to three in 2018. The future will be driven by immersive content (technology and VFX rich) experiences to drive theatrical footfalls and some genres of films could migrate to home viewership only.  We can expect to see creation of a segmented Hindi-mass product for the heartland at low ticket prices.

Mergers and Acquisitions in M&E

While the number of deals increased to 64 in 2019 from 41 in 2018, the overall deal value was

much lower at INR101 billion as compared to INR192 billion in the previous year. This was largely due to the absence of big-ticket deals with only four deals crossing the US$100 million threshold. The highest amount of investment was made in television, followed by digital, radio and gaming. Deal activity was spearheaded by new media such as digital and gaming, which witnessed 54 of the 64 deals in 2019, however, in terms of deal value, the share of traditional media segments such as TV, radio and film exhibition was 63%.

Please find below the link to the report:

https://www.ey.com/en_in/media-entertainment/ficci-ey-media-and-entertainment-report-2019

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

About the study

This report has been developed by conducting primary and secondary research, discussions with several companies and industry stakeholders, and cross referencing of available data points. To the extent possible, the data has been verified and validated. Sizing of various segments has been arrived at using various sources of data, primary research and proprietary EY research. The sizing has been further validated through industry discussions. 2020 estimates do not reflect the likely impact on the industry arising from the coronavirus outbreak as the situation was still evolving rapidly at the time of going to press.

Pearson VUE collaborates with FICCI Higher Education Summit and Exhibition 2019 as “Online Assessment” Partner

NEW DELHI, INDIA, 27th November 2019 – The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) today inaugurated the 15th FICCI Higher Education Summit and Exhibition 2019 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The conference and exhibition attracted delegates from more than 65 countries including regions such as Africa, CIS, Middle East and Asia. The three-day event is dedicated to covering: “Creative Economy Nation Building: Higher Education as the catalyst.” Pearson VUE is the official ‘online assessment’ partner at the event.

The basic premise is that India already has the largest higher education system in the world in terms of institutions and second-largest in terms of enrolment - with over 980 Universities, 39931 Colleges, 10725 standalone institutions and 34.6 million students.

Participants at the FICCI Higher Education Summit 2019 broadly agreed that India must keep developing its universities to commercialize knowledge that will drive innovation. Furthermore, collaborative international learning was identified as a vital component of internationalization in higher education.

This drive is supported by central government, which pledged USD 1 billion of funding to improve state universities over three years (2017-2020).

Moreover, the government recently launched a “Study in India’’ program which seeks to attract international students from 30 focused countries and identified 15 zones in India that will be developed into educational cities.

“Pearson VUE is delighted to be the Online Assessment Partner of the FICCI Higher Education Summit and Exhibition 2019. India faces a monumental task in upskilling its workforce. Computer-based testing is key to tackling many critical challenges to further raising assessment standards across the education sector and within the workplace in India,” said Divyalok Sharma, Senior Director (Client Development), Pearson VUE.

About Pearson VUE

Pearson VUE has been a pioneer in the computer-based testing industry for decades, delivering more than 15 million certification and licensure exams annually in every industry from academia and admissions to IT and healthcare. We are the global leaders in developing and delivering high-stakes exams via the world's most comprehensive network of nearly 20,000 highly secure test centers in 180 countries. Our leadership in the assessment industry is a result of our collaborative partnerships with a broad range of clients, from leading technology firms to government and regulatory agencies. For more information, please visit PearsonVUE.com.   

92nd Annual Convention, FICCI

The Annual Convention is a landmark event in which we continue to strive to be the voice for policy change and facilitating India’s economic growth with a global landscape.

The FICCI Annual Convention sets the tone for our economic agenda in the backdrop of an ever-changing world order and Indian policy environment. This year our Annual Convention will once again highlight the growth imperatives for our country, sharing the vision of our PM through the theme, “India: Roadmap to a 5 Trillion Dollar Economy”

This is a special invitation to personally invite you for our 92^nd Annual Convention, on behalf of President FICCI, Mr. Sandip Somany, Vice Chairman and Managing Director HSIL and FICCI Executive Committee. We would also welcome your colleagues who would like to join us at the Annual Convention.

Our Annual Convention is planned for December 20-21, 2019 (Fri-Sat), at Taj Palace Hotel, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. We would like to have the pleasure of your presence on this occasion and request you to kindly register online, for the FICCI Annual Convention, as per link below, before 14^th December 2019.

This year’s Annual Convention would feature exclusive talks by global CEOs, Indian Government decision-makers, young parliamentarians and gen-next leaders. They would deliberate on changing global business landscape, disruptive technologies and policy imperatives for making India a 5 trillion economy.

You may register on paid basis at the link: http://registrations.ficci.com/agm/online-registration.html

We are also inviting select organizations to consider sponsorship opportunities, as this would be an excellent platform to showcase your organization’s branding. Details can be shared on receiving your in-principle interest.

Looking forward to having you and your colleagues with us, at our 92^nd Annual Convention.

Industry should set up online portal to facilitate international patients – Commerce Secretary

• India's MVT market expected to become US$ 9 billion by 2020: FICCI-EY Knowledge Paper

GREATER NOIDA, 13 November 2019: Dr Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, today urged the healthcare industry to set up an online portal that will facilitate international patients coming to India for treatment. The portal will have relevant information and services to help patients plan their travel and treatment.

Speaking at the 5^th International Summit on Medical Value Travel - ‘Advantage Healthcare India 2019’ organized by FICCI jointly with the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Dr Wadhawan said, “Medical value travel is beyond just treatment, it’s treatment-plus and the industry should see what are the qualitative aspects that need to be improved in our healthcare services.”

Dr Wadhawan added that India has significant medical infrastructure, yet the majority of these are in the metro cities. To provide comprehensive medical coverage, it is imperative that rural areas should also have access to the latest and affordable healthcare.

Ms Sangeeta Godbole, Director General, Services Export Promotion Council, Government of India, said, “India has very strong traditional healthcare ways that will help in furthering the cause of healthcare not only in our country but also in the rest of the world.”

Dr Sangita Reddy, President-elect, FICCI, & Joint Managing Director Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said that India is unparalleled in delivering quality medical care at one-tenth of the global cost and aims to transform this sector so that India becomes the epicenter of medical value travel. “Concepts of telemedicine and online consultations are growing tremendously,” she added.

Dr Harish Pillai, Chair, FICCI MVT Committee, & Chief Executive Officer, Aster India, Aster DM Healthcare Ltd, said that the Indian medical and wellness market is growing, and medical value travel is also adding to this growth. “India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in medical value travel and the National Medical Value Travel Committee at FICCI has been giving recommendations to the government, advocating policy change in the sector,” added Dr Pillai.

Dr Narottam Puri, Adviser MVT & Health Services, FICCI, and Ex-chairman, NABH, while introducing the ‘FICCI Code of Ethical Conduct by Indian Hospitals’ said, “Hospitals signing this code provide a commitment of morality and ethics in the management of patients.”

Dr Devlina Chakravarty, Former Co-chair, FICCI MVT Committee, & Managing Director, Artemis Hospitals, said that Indian hospitals have worked hard to deal with the issue of infection in hospitals and today the rate of infection has come down due to the stringent anti-microbial policy brought in by major hospitals across the country.
‘FICCI-EY Knowledge Paper on India: Building Best Practices in Healthcare Services Globally’ was also released during the event.

FICCI-EY Knowledge Paper on India: Building Best Practices in Healthcare Services Globally - Key takeaways of the report: Medical value travel (MVT) has evolved rapidly in the past two decades. Many countries, especially developing counties, are trying to establish themselves as major MVT hubs. The global medical travel market was valued at US$53,768 million in 2017. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2018-25. As healthcare turns costlier in developed countries like USA and UK, India's MVT market is expected to become US$ 9 billion by 2020. Major destination cities in India are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. A total of 27% of medical travellers visit Maharashtra out of which 80% go to Mumbai. Chennai attracts nearly 15% while Kerala handles around 5-7%. Major source markets for India are countries from Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and SAARC region. More than 50% of medical travelers coming to India are from Bangladesh. India's offerings in the MVT space have led it to be one of the most popular MVT destinations. These offerings include affordable treatment, service and care and tourism.

Enhance exposure of Indian cinema in US: Oscar Academy head John Bailey

·         There should be more representation of Indian cinema abroad

NEW DELHI, 30 May 2019: Mr John Bailey, President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said the Indian film industry is one of the biggest in the world and should increase its presence internationally and at the Academy.

Speaking at the Interactive Session with Stakeholders of Media and Entertainment Industry organized by FICCI on Tuesday, Mr Bailey said, “India is a land of storytellers. I appreciate the enthusiasm of Indian film industry. I would like to see more members from India at the Academy.”

Mr Bailey¸ who was on a visit to India with wife Ms Carol Littleton, also Governor at the Oscar Academy, applauded the large number of movies produced in India.  

“My understanding is that 1,800 movies in a year is produced in India, which is more than four times the number that we make in the United States. It’s important that there should be more representation of Indian cinema abroad,” he said.

On popularity of Indian films at the Oscars, Mr Bailey said, “Indian cinema is not that well known to Hollywood-based Academy members as much as French, English, Italian or, basically, western cinema is.” He said limited distribution and exposure of Indian cinema in the US was the key reason.

“I understand that Indian cinema is doing very well in China and other countries, so it's also up to the Indian industry to increase its efforts in the US,” Bailey said.

The Academy and film institutes around the world are encouraging and supporting diversity without compromising on the artistic values in films, he added.

Ms Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Member, Central Broad of Film Certification said, “Indian film industry has been recognized as the largest producer of content and every corner of the country has diverse stories in different languages that completes the picture.”

Mr Amit Khanna, renowned lyricist and filmmaker, said, “The fault lies within the industry. We are not promoting Indian movies in the international market. There is no restriction in applying for any international festivals. These festivals help the movies get due recognition at the global circuit.”

Mr Rahul Rawail, acclaimed filmmaker, appreciated the efforts of the Academy and requested Mr Bailey to send experts for Master Classes for the Golden Jubilee edition of IFFI which will be organized at Goa in November 2019.