Download the PDF version here - Indo-American Chamber Of ...

it is a win-win situation for both parties. It’s not a zero-sum game. If these two big industries get
together, it will be fantastic for the overall progress of storytelling across the world,” added singh.
The entry of Hollywood studios in the Indian market has it benefits too. This has made India studios
follow the international system. “Everybody’s job profile is very clearly demarcated in an international
studio, but we’re still a little myopic in the Indian market,” said arya. Shetty believes that Hollywood
studios have also helped open up little pockets for experimentation. “Today, anurag kashyap is going all
the way to cannes or some festival. Some studio can actually make it possible for kashyap to co-direct a
movie with tim burton someday. It could be an Indian story made with two different cinematic
sensibilities. And that is something that Hollywood studios could bring to India. At the end of the day,
it’s not really their money India is looking for, but their value,” added shetty.
The growth of homegrown studios has also made sure that Indian films find a wider audience. “So far,
we have been able to take them to the south Asian diaspora. Now we want to leverage the synergy to
expand to a wider audience,” says roy kapur. Lamba cites examples of kites which was the first film to be
released in Latin America, and 3 idiots, which got 900 screens in china. “it is just the desire to take your
film as widely out as possible. If you’re going to sit here and do your age-old broker business, you’re
going to get a certain result. If you’re going to make the effort of actually going out and building offices
and bringing in people who understand the international scale, why can’t an Indian company compete
on an equal level?” Asks Lamba.
Click here for index
US visa norms ease for Indian tourists, students
Indians renewing visas to the US within four years will be exempted from a personal interview.
Announcing this here on Wednesday, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs Janice Jacobs said
the new rules would apply to visa categories B1, B2, C and D. Jacobs, who is here for the US-India
consular dialogue, is likely to face New Delhi's concern about the growing rate of rejection of Indian
work visas by the US.
"This new programme will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants
who are renewing their visa within 48 months or four years, of expiration of their previous visa and
within the same classification as the previous visa," Jacobs said. She clarified that these new rules would
apply "for tourists, business travelers, crew members and for students." "Beginning today, our
consulates in India are introducing a new programme to streamline the visa renewal process. Over time,
this programme has the potential to benefit hundreds of thousands of visa applicants here in India," she
said. However, this may not apply to everyone, who satisfies the norms. US consular officers, she said,
would have the liberty to call any applicant to appear for an interview in view of security concerns. "So,
maintaining strict security standards in our visa process is a fundamental importance to all of our
citizens. For that reason, our consular officers may request an applicant to appear in person for
interview at any time for any reason during the visa application process," she said. According to the US
Embassy, more than 670,000 non-immigrant visa applications were processed last year, an 11% increase
from 2010. However, there is a difference between the US and India on the issuance of L-1 visas, which
are temporary work visas for movement within the same company.
Jacobs insisted that India remained on top of the list as recipient for employment and work visas. "We
have issued a record number of employment based visa to Indian nationals both in H1B and L category,"
she said. However, James Herman, Minister (Counselor) for Consular Affairs to India, added, "I think the
positive message here is that if you look at employment visas at large, we have issued a record number
of H visas which we believe that lot of L visa categories should have been given H visas.
Click here for index