Doubling screen count in 5 years can generate 1.25 lakh jobs, add Rs 950...

Key Highlights

• It had suggested “increasing India’s screen count to 20,000” helped by measures such as tax holidays to new screens set up in 19,000 pin codes where there are currently no screens.
• It has recommended deregulating the cinema exhibition industry in terms of ticket pricing, akin to the hospitality sector and grant the exhibition segment industry status so that electricity, which is a key cost, can be paid at industrial tariffs, rather than higher retail rates.
• The report also recommended permitting alternate use of theatres to take advantage of the massive growth in live events, MICE and experiences and also to permit 24×7 operation of cinema infrastructure to enable increased monetisation.
• According to the report, screens per million of the population has fallen from 7.6 in 2018 to 6.8 in 2024.
• This also compare unfavorably with other large content production economies like the US (109 screens/ million), UK (66 screens/million) and China (64 screens/million).