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The study, 'The Effects of Counterfeiting and Piracy on India's Entertainment Industry, released by The US-India Business Council (USIBC), shows huge job and revenue losses to the Indian economy as a result of the piracy in the burgeoning industry.
"This study estimates that the Indian entertainment industry loses some 820,000 jobs and about $4 billion every year to piracy. This is an enormous and unacceptable magnitude of loss by any measure," USIBC president Ron Somers said at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) FRAMES 'Business of Entertainment' Conference in Mumbai.
Speaking at the function, FICCI secretary general, Dr. Amit Mitra, said, "The Media and Entertainment industry in India is an industry of the future. India's entertainment industry already generates more than $11 billion annually for the country, growing at a combined annual rate of over 18 per cent. If we can stop piracy, these industries will grow even faster and employ more Indian workers."
"The study shows that the best way to make the boom in the Indian entertainment 'bigger' is to stop the affliction of piracy. For the average Indian who wants to increase his or her chances for being employed in Bollywood and associated industries, fighting piracy is a place where all our collective efforts must start."
The piracy study was commissioned as part of the USIBC-FICCI Bollywood-Hollywood Initiative to promote the sustainable growth and convergence underway between both the entertainment industries.