Written by Joe Jackson on May 20, 2022. Posted in Incentive News

30% foreign production incentive revealed at Cannes 2022's Indian Pavilion

India has unveiled a new incentive scheme for international productions. Up to 30% of qualifying expenditure (capped at USD260,000) can be reimbursed by the federal government. A 5% boost (capped at USD65,000) will be granted if 15% or more of a production’s workforce are from India. Anurag Thakur – the country’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) – revealed the news at Cannes Film Festival’s newly-inaugurated Indian Pavilion.

“We are the largest filmmaking country in the world,” emphasised Thakur. “I am representing a nation known for storytelling. At Cannes, India has made a mark not only in showing the Indian films, but also to pitch to make India the content hub of the world.”

Thakur recently revealed that the government of India has officially designed audiovisual services as one of its 12 ‘champion service sectors.’ A specialist AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) taskforce are currently creating a policy roadmap “to take a quantum leap in this sector” and in turn position India a world-leading production hub.

"Indian cinema is a story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of India," says Anurag Thakur.

Applicants for the new reimbursement scheme must be Indian line producers, and the minimum qualifying expenditure for all productions is USD325,000. The initiative applies to films, television and streaming series, reality television, documentaries and post-production work, and certain VFX services are also eligible.

An 11-member Indian delegation – wearing traditional attired and led by Thakur – walked the festival’s famous red carpet at the 75^th Anniversary of Cannes Film Festival. As well as inaugurating the event’s Indian Pavilion, Thakur introduced the poster for the 53^rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, at Cannes’s business-orientated counterpart, India was the Marché du Film’s first ‘country of honour.’ Currently valued at USD24 billion, it is anticipated that the Indian media and entertainment industry will grow to USD30 million by 2024.

“Indian cinema is a story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of India,” Thakur added. “Cinema has emerged as an instrument of our soft power in the last seven decades.”

Images courtesy of PIB and the Government of India