enTTech, scheduled for 5-7 March 2018 at Mumbai, is the maiden effort of Service Exports Promotion Council to help participants partner with aspiring young minds eager to make their mark in creative services and unlock the great hidden potential of the Indian M&E sector, says Sangeetha Godbole, Director General, Service Exports Promotion Council

Service Exports Promotion Council (SEPC) is set to organise enTTech – a B2B market for the media and entertainment services sector. How is the event shaping up?

enTTech, our maiden effort to bring together Indian services industry in the M&E space and the companies from across the globe, is shaping up with great gusto. This seems to be the perfect time to start an effort like enTTech, as Indian media, entertainment and technology services are growing at an accelerated pace on the back of growing offshore services domain, especially in animation, VFX, gaming, AR/VR, film production, location and new media, among others.

The Government of India is going all out to attract in-vestment and to create employment opportunities for aspiring Indian youth. Given India’s solid IT backbone, enTTech is a beautiful fit in that effort.

It is an attempt to celebrate India’s strengths in the creative and technology services arena, and to partner with the rest of the world.

What’s the mandate and core vision of the Service Exports Promotion Council (SEPC) from the Media & Entertainment Services perspective?

Services Export Promotion Council has been set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. It is our mandate to promote export of Services from India, of which entertainment forms an important part.

The Media and Entertainment (M&E) Industry is one of the most dynamic industries in India with modern technologies acting as a key enabler for providing world-class services to overseas clients/companies.

The industry is increasingly witnessing the convergence of media, entertainment and technology creating efficiencies in workflow, revenue streams and unique business models.

The sector is only going to grow exponentially. We want to encourage our small companies to find a foot-hold in the global market in this sector as also our larger companies to spread and deepen their global footprints. It is with this vision that we have started our work in this sector.

How’s India placed in the M&E services domain? What are the sectors included in the M&E ser-vices vertical for enTTech?

India is doing very well in the M&E Services do-main. We are proud that in every major blockbuster produced anywhere in the world, there is an Indian footprint. Be it VFX, animation, gaming or AR/VR, Indian companies are doing a great job in providing backend support. Indian companies are also now waking up to IP creation. I think the future looks fantastic, and SEPC is happy to be part of that. Looking to that future we have included all Services verticals relating to the M&E sector – animation, gaming, VFX, AR/VR, new media, dubbing, subtitling, music, advertising in enTTech. We will create a true market place in India – the first of its kind.

How can overseas production companies looking to offshore M&E services from India benefit from participating in enTTech?

We will have most Indian companies participating at enTTech. Thus, anyone travelling from overseas will be able to connect to a whole array of companies from India – young, not –so-young, small, large, in almost every vertical of M&E space. We will also have Invest India to hand hold any com-pany wanting to invest in India.

Will all Indian M&E services company be under one umbrella at enTTech?

Yes. We’re working with MEAI of Ban-galore and TVAVGA of Hyderabad. We will make it an inclusive effort.

enTTech will have a dedicated conference flow. What are some of the conference themes this year?

We will have panels on all major M&E verticals like VFX, gaming and animation. We are expecting some prominent Indian and international personalities in M&E space at the dias. Listening to them would be a great opportunity for Indian companies. We will also deliberate on regulatory issues, skilling requirements and investment.

India has a strong startup ecosystem in various verticals?  Will this get reflected in start-up engagement in the M&E services space?

Government is very eager to support start-ups. It believes in self employment along with jobs creation. The aspiring young people will find great interest in this space.  We have also kept a session exclusively for the youngest 20 CEOs with our Minister. The top leaders are keen on engaging with young India. Al-most all ministries are engaging positively with start-ups. I’m sure this will bear results soon, particularly for the M&E Services space.

What are your tips for delegates to make the best use of time at enT-Tech?

Engage with each other within the country and the guest participants coming from abroad. Together let’s create a symphony which takes this sector to a crescendo.

Enjoy the sessions. Put forth your views frankly and forthrightly. Express all regulatory issues to the senior officers of government who will attend. Demand resolution and follow up later.

Become members of SEPC and avail of the export incentives that government provides.

Foreign delegates must interact with as many companies as they can because this is an excellent opportunity to un-lock hidden Indian potential.

Most importantly, do great business.

Technology in Entertainment Services Exhibition, or enTTech, will exhibit an array of services offered by the Indian M&E companies and match make needs of the overseas production houses. It will be an excellent opportunity for overseas players to partner with some of the brightest minds in the Indian M&E space.

The first-of-its-kind true market place in M&E space will include all Services verticals relating to the M&E sector – Animation, gaming, VFX, AR/VR, new media, dubbing, subtitling, music, and advertising among others.

enTTech to have panel discussions covering all major M&E verticals such as vfx, gaming and animation, among others. Speakers will include reputed Indian and international M&E personalities, who will help Indian companies to gain from their perspectives. Deliberation on regulatory issues, skilling requirements and investment will be part of the conference.

It will offer a great platform to young aspiring entrepreneurs to interact directly with key government officials. A session with Minister exclusively for the youngest 20 CEOs will be one of the key highlights of enTTech.