New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has signed a deal to partner with Amazon India, to stream TV shows and movies produced by government-run studios. According to the government's press release on the partnership, it will also "help strengthen industry-academia linkages through provisions for scholarships, internships, masterclasses, and other opportunities for students at Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India".

In a statement on the deal, Amazon said it would “strengthens our commitment to globally promote and showcase India’s creative talent and stories through our multiple services”. According to Bloomberg, it is rare for the US-based company to partner with a government in this way. The deal is being signed in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

While speaking at the launch of the partnership on Wednesday, Union minister Anurag Thakur said that there are "millions of stories to be told" from India's "ancient civilisation", according to the Press Information Bureau. He also talked about what OTT platforms should and shouldn't showcase – saying "OTT platforms have the responsibility of ensuring that their platforms do not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as creative expressions".

The PIB release states that the deal "also includes aspects on promotion of Indian heritage through a dedicated catalogue of Publication Division’s books on India’s culture on the Amazon e-commerce website, and promotion of Indian music on Amazon Music and Alexa".

"Iconic content from NFDC, Doordarshan and International Film Festival of India will showcased on Prime Video and miniTV to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav," Amazon India's statement added.

Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan was the chief guest at the event. “For any artist, the ultimate dream is to be recognized for our work. Thanks to streaming services like Prime Video, today, even people in the remotest corners of the world are dancing to our music and repeating our dialogues. A collaboration of this nature helps us all work towards redefining what it means to be an Indian on the global entertainment stage,” he reportedly said.

OTT platforms in India – including Amazon – have faced problems in the past with cases being filed on content that is deemed to "hurting religious sentiments" or "vulgar", leading to some level of censorship. Most of these complaints have come from Hindu right-wing groups that support the BJP.

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