New Delhi: The media and entertainment industry, and over the top (OTT) platforms in particular, will fuel economic and job growth in the next few years and government encourages this trend by allowing OTT platforms to self-regulate, information and broadcasting and sports minister Anurag Thakur said at the Times Now Summit on Thursday.

Acknowledging the exponential growth of OTT platforms, which picked up pace during the coronavirus pandemic, Thakur said the media and entertainment industry is projected to be worth Rs 4 lakh crore by 2025 and that OTT platforms alone have the potential to employ 80 lakh persons.

With expected investments worth Rs 30,000 crore in the next three years, of which 45% is likely to be through FDI, Thakur said India is also the world’s sixth largest OTT market, despite still being in its nascent stages of growth.

He did not agree with claims of “over censorship” by the government and said OTT platforms have been allowed to self-regulate and take responsibility for the content they produce. “There is a three-tier mechanism for complaint redressal and 95% of the complaints they received are settled at their own level,” he said.

Congratulating Times Now Navbharat for its proposed launch on the Standard Definition platform, effective January 1 next year, Thakur said, “We all want Navbharat to be prosperous and powerful. In this, the role of Times Now Navbharat is also significant; for delivering accurate news to the masses. For this I congratulate you all.”

In his capacity as sports minister, he said the government has taken several steps to step up training facilities for elite and upcoming athletes through initiatives like Mission Olympic Cell and Khelo India, and that the ministry will, in the coming months, launch app-based training modules for coaches and athletes to ensure that international best practices reach the maximum number of aspiring sportspersons.

Thakur also said social media platforms are powerful tools to inform people, but condemned recent instances of Indian cricket players being targeted on social media for their performances.

“Everyone must understand social media is for you to state your point of view, but not to make objectionable statements about anyone or run someone down. Those who represent India put in every effort for the country and it is absolutely condemnable when someone is targeted over their religion or poor performance,” he said.