The Indian government told the film industry Tuesday that it would take a light touch to regulation to tackle piracy -- but would legislate if necessary.

In an address on the first day of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Frames convention, Asha Swarup said that the industry must do more to tackle piracy.

Swarup, who is secretary of the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said the government would not enact parts of the upcoming optical disc law, which would have created an army of video inspectors.

"A regime of inspectors does not fit with government policy of liberalization," she said.

The best way of tackling film piracy is "management of the supply side," so that there is less incentive for consumers to buy pirated discs.

Pointing to collapsing video windows and the success of the pic "Jab We Met," which sold 8 million copies on DVD just a week after its theatrical release, she pointed to the possibility of releasing films in digital formats in small towns, where movies often come out months after their city releases.

However, she offered some comfort to the theatrical industry with a stout call for an end to distribution disruptions caused by religious and other objectors.

In recent weeks, objectors have used the courts to suspend distribution of "Jodhaa Akbar" and "Aaja Nachle," both of which had been passed by the Censor Board of India. Swarup described the situation as an "unfortunate trend."

Message is expected to go down well. Earlier in the day, Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra said: "I don't think anybody has the right to stop or ban a film that has been passed by the Censor Board."

Swarup indicated that there is progress on the readying of bilateral co-production treaties and said accords with the U.K., Italy, Germany and Brazil are now in place. "I feel strongly that cooperation has to be supported and facilitated," especially in the animation and gaming sectors, she said.

She promised to help the ailing National Film Development Corp.

"The government may also provide it a composite fund to tide over its difficulties and finance movies that can project Indian art and culture in the world market, besides making socially relevant movies," she said.

Unit has already received $5 million for documentaries and short films.

The minister also sent a mixed message to the TV industry. She said that government focus is on digitalization and that new satcasters would drive replacement of the analog cable TV market with digital. So too will the extension of the mandatory use of digital set-top decoders (known as conditional access in India) from four cities to 55.

Swarup also warmed to the theme of finding a replacement for existing TV ratings measurement system, TAM, which many industry insiders say has too small and conservative a panel of viewers.

However, she also warned that not enough thought has been given to development of "wholesome content" for children, threatening more legislation in this area.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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