35 foreign film projects granted permission for production in India in 2023: Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur has today informed the parliament that 35 foreign film projects have been granted permission for film production in India this year till November 2023. The Minister responding to a starred question also stated that the number of films granted approval stood at 28 for 2022 and 11 for 2021.

The Minister also informed the parliament about the incentive schemes for co-production of films under the Audio-Visual Co-production Treaty and for production of foreign films in India w.e.f. 01.04.2022 aimed at making India a preferred destination for international film production and also to generate employment and to increase inflow of foreign exchange in India.

He further informed that the incentive scheme has been enhanced and further simplified by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in order to attract more international projects. He went on to state that as per the revised incentive scheme announced on 20.11.2023, all qualifying projects of foreign film production and films being produced under Audio Visual Co-production Treaty can claim a cash incentive of 30% on the qualified expenditure incurred in India. In case of live shoot of foreign films, a 5% bonus can be claimed for employing 15% or more Indian crew. Further for foreign film shooting and post-production work, an additional 5% can be claimed for the film which has significant Indian content to promote Indian culture, talent and tourist destination.

Shri Thakur further informed the Parliament that the maximum limit of the incentive has been enhanced from previous ₹ 2.5 crore to ₹ 30 crore to attract big budget international film projects whereas the maximum percentage of incentive has been enhanced from the previous 35% to 40%.