“We had expressed our concerns to the ministry of health in both an official representation on the subject and in a joint meeting with stakeholders and industry associations that the Ministry of Health and MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) organised,” Producers Guild of India CEO Nitin Ahuja told ET.
OTT firms are implementing the rules partially, hoping the health ministry will find a solution to the current impasse, said a veteran executive with an OTT platform, who did not wish to be identified.
The government has directed OTT platforms to strictly adhere to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023, and has warned of action against non-complying platforms.
The amendment rules, which were issued in May last year and came into effect in September, require OTT platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, Jio Cinema, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to display anti-tobacco health spots of 30 seconds, audio-visual disclaimers of 20 seconds and prominent static warnings during the programme.
Industry is hopeful that Apurva Chandra, who has been MIB secretary since 2021 and has been handed additional charge as secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare since January 1, will be able to find a workable solution due to his expertise and cross-domain expertise. “It’s the hope of the OTT players that the new secretary, while holding the dual charge of MIB and health ministry, will be able to resolve the impasse,” the legal head of a leading OTT platform said on condition of anonymity. “In a joint meeting in August last year, former health secretary Sudhansh Pant, who is now the chief secretary of Rajasthan, admitted that a pragmatic solution needs to be found for the OTTs to implement the anti-tobacco warning rules.”
