At the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2024, Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting spoke about India’s incredible growth over the years and how India will be the country too look at for leading various initiatives. Thakur has been very passionate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative ‘Vocal For Local’.
Thakur said, “4 lakh crore sale happened of local items. This happened after PM appealed for ‘Vocal for Local’ and he asked people to buy local products. This shows how much people consider PM.”
Thakur has been very passionate about this initiative and its impact on the media and entertainment industry as well, having spoken about it multiple times at various occasions. Earlier, he had shared “It is important to invest in regional content and languages. India’s linguistic diversity is our strength. Supporting regional languages and hyper localised content is essential not only to compete with global platforms but also to achieve the larger goal of providing equal opportunity for all. The extension of India’s film and television institutes to regional campuses emphasises our commitment to languages.”
The minister further emphasised the success of regional content by using the Indian Premier League (IPL) as an example.
“When they started telecasting in regional languages, their audience increased dramatically. In terms of reach, there’s nothing ‘regional’ about regional content anymore. It’s like films – the content travels nationally and internationally, creating waves. The emphasis should be on raising awareness about technology and creating high-quality content that can reach every nook and corner of the world,” he said.
Acknowledging the rapidly changing media landscape and evolving audience preferences he said, “The media landscape is undergoing a metamorphosis, and consumption patterns are shifting rapidly with audience tastes migrating. We must acknowledge this shift and adapt accordingly.”