Locally authentic content proven to be most global: Netflix co-CEO

Locally authentic content gets the maximum response among viewers, Netflix co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos said on Saturday, as he advised filmmakers to not reverse engineer stories based on their supposition of what a "global" film should look like.

- Faisal Malik

MUMBAI: The Union information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said on Saturday that the upcoming Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT)—a national centre of excellence dedicated exclusively to the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, and extended reality (AVGC-XR) sector—is expected to help India "take the global lead in the world in the media and entertainment sector".

Hailing the initiative at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that IICT will follow the same template as the IITs and IIMs in India to transform itself into a massive world-class education and training hub for students who aspire to be professionals in the AVGC-XR sector.

"We have started an initiative which is completely novel in the world of film and entertainment. This (initiative) follows the vision of our Prime Minister that India can take the global lead in the world in the media and entertainment sector," Vaishnaw said on the third day of WAVES which is being held at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai.

During the event, nine leading companies—Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Star India, Adobe, Toon Boom, WACOM, NVIDIA—inked memorandums of understanding (MoU) to help transform IICT into a world-class institution by developing curricula; offering internships, scholarships, funding start-ups and giving job placements. It will be an autonomous and a non-profit organisation, having a governing council, students' council among other wings, an official said.

Hailing the move, Vaishnaw said: "India can take global leadership in the world of media and entertainment as we have a billion plus talent and a civilization as old as 5,000 years and thousands of stories to tell. We have taken a step and now have to build on it."

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday allocated ₹400 crore for setting up the institute.