In this Industry Spotlight with Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India and Lohita Sujith, Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy, Motion Picture Association, discussed the impact of the OCC industry on the cultural fabric of society.
On the growth of the sector, Mr. Sahay mentioned how the versatility of OCC content – with it’s vast technology, and versatility with voiceover & dubbing capability has been able serve the wide gamut of Indian audiences distinguished by culture, language and religion. The result of this has been significant growth for the sector – not just in India but globally as well.
In addition to accessibility, in Mr. Sahay’s view the most important thing is that a global hub of content has been created allowing audiences to view any piece of content from anywhere in the world resulting in an exchange of culture and creativity. The exchange of culture is also significant with regards to exporting Indian stories & culture to a global platform.
Moving on to IFFI, currently in its 3rd year, Mr. Sahay looks forward to a convergence of energy with people from around the world coming together in attendance for screenings, discussions and workshops.
He also mentioned how the recently introduced “Best Web Series” award stemmed from the vibrancy of content and talent in the OCC sector. The need to recognise and reward this talent was imminent and resulted in its instatement.
All original web series’ with a certain minimum runtime released on a regulatory compliant platform, in the last year (2022-2023) are eligible to apply for the award.
To close the conversation, Mr. Sahay highlighted that the timing to enter the industry is ideal with unbound opportunities available to them. The multiple platforms and diverse technology make the industry extremely friendly for young talent.
Vikram has most recently played a pivotal role in introducing rules for self-regulation of the online curated content industry along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. At the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, he has supported key policies for the growth of the media and entertainment industry. His illustrious career also spans key roles at the University Grants Commission, the Income Tax Department, where he dealt with important policy issues of tax administration and the Ministry of Education wherein he dealt with important policy matters relating to the Right to Education Act and Teachers’ Education. Vikram is an Indian Revenue Service officer and holds a Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and a Master’s in Business Administration in Public Services from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
