By A Correspondent
It’s the biggest event in the media and entertainment sector in the country, and the industry is set to congregated on March 30, 31 and April 1 at the Renaissance hotel in Powai, Mumbai.
Fittingly it’s not the I&B minister but the telecom minister who is inaugurating the three-day convention. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister, Department of Telecom, Government of India will do the honours, possibly reflecting the growing role of telecom in media and entertainment. Frames this year will showcase the digital, financial & content aspect of the media and entertainment industry. The efforts would be to expose delegates to the global and Indian developments with regard to trends and opportunities in the  entertainment industry, business possibilities and regulatory regimes in different countries, according to a communiqué.
This year’s theme ‘Change or Perish’ emphasises on the role of technological or digital aspect of the industry as the sector has seen an increase in application of VFX in movies and short films coupled with a spur in digital subscription models due to easy access of digital content. The theme also addresses the issue of digital disruption in the media and entertainment industry due to robust smartphone penetration& the advent of 4G network set to spread across the country.
The Conclave will bring together over 2600 media and entertainment business people from India and overseas, along with officials of the Central Government in a bid to deliberate on issues confronting the industry. The business sessions at the Conclave will cover the entire gamut of Media & Entertainment like Films, Broadcast (TV & Radio), Digital Entertainment, Animation, Gaming, and Visual Effects.
The inaugural session of FICCI FRAMES 2016 will see a welcome address by Uday Shankar, Chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee & CEO, Star India followed by an address by Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries.
The session will also be addressed by Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; Ramesh Sippy, Co-Chairman, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee; Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudeva, Founder, Isha Foundation; Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO and actor Parineeti Chopra. J B Perrette, President, and Discovery Networks International will also deliver a keynote. r.
The various sessions, spread over three days will review, analyse and make predictions for the future for the entire gamut of Indian media and entertainment in general, followed by an comprehensive view of certain aspect or issues in the industry.
There are various sessions planned over the three days. “Media challenges and opportunities in emerging markets of BRICS†will see corporate honchos look at the partnership of BRICS nations for the future of media and entertainment. There is a session on Marathi Cinema, Digital media influencing news, Music being the new age entertainment destination
On Day 1 of FICCI-FRAMES, consulting firm is scheduled to present its annual study of the M&E sector.