IMAGE: The Baahubali sets at Ramoji Film City. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ramoji Film City/Instagram

The ministry of information and broadcasting is working on a proposal to set up a mega movie production studio — akin to those in Hollywood — with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion), which will be supported by the government.

This would generate over 1 million additional jobs in the entertainment industry.

Of this, at least 500,000 jobs could be high-quality ones with salaries over Rs 50,000 to Rs 300,000 a month.

It will also help in making India a global hub for post production of movies across the world.

IMAGE: The Statue of Liberty at Ramoji Film City. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ramoji Film City/Instagram

A senior official in the ministry, elaborating on the plan, said: “Hollywood has over 10 mega studios, but the largest in India is Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. There is huge potential for creating jobs in the movies and entertainment industry by building a mega studio in the country. This can push employment in the sector from 2.5 million currently to 3.5 million, which is a huge jump. That is our focus.”

The official also added that such a studio will require a minimum 200 acres of land and an investment of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion).

The main challenge he said is the capex and government support in capex.

The government has provided capex in many areas like for building fabs and expanding wagons for railways, among others.

IMAGE: The Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ramoji Film City/Instagram

To put into perspective, Ramoji Film City, according to estimates in wiki, has 1,200 employees, over 8,000 agents and is a key tourist destination.

It tackles over 400 to 500 films each year, with a capacity to handle over 15 shoots a day, spread over 1,600 acres of land.

The Indian media and entertainment industry ended 2023 at Rs 2.3 trillion, a growth of 8 per cent over the previous year.

It is expected to hit Rs 3.08 trillion by 2026, according to a report by FICCI-E&Y released this March.

The industry created 200,000 hours of content last year.

IMAGE: Fans visit the Baahubali set at Ramoji Film City. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ramoji Film City/Instagram

I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, during the curtain raiser of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2024) recently, had said that a big focus of the government will be to create more employment in the media and entertainment sector.

WAVES will be held along with the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November.

Speaking on the occasion he pointed out that currently there are 2.5 million jobs in this industry which can be significantly increased and that will be done through some “structural and process effort.”

As technology marches ahead, Vaishnaw said it also brings in new opportunities, which India has to harness to create more jobs.

He also said the role of public policy is to harness the best out of this structural change and one should be able to support the people and the industry in coping with the change in technology.

Game Plan

• Expected to create over 1 million additional jobs
• To help make India into a global hub for post production of movies
• Such a studio will require minimum 200 acres of land
• Main challenge is capex, which might be supported by the government