Shillong, March 24: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday announced that the state government will build an OTT platform, to be called ‘Hello Meghalaya’, to host local content.
Presenting the Budget for 2023-24 in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Thursday, he said, “The government is also building an OTT platform ‘Hello Meghalaya’ to provide income to local artists and quality content for all the citizens by hosting local content.”
He also informed that the state will come up with a detailed film policy to encourage shooting of films in Meghalaya and take steps to strengthen the local film industry. A scheme for providing subsidies for construction of cinemas, music and film studios will be crafted. This come after the success of the first ‘Meghalaya International Film Festival’ held this month.
He said the government is allocating Rs. 15 crore to support these initiatives.
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Further, stressing that Arts, Crafts and Music continue to be powerful ways to engage the youth, he said the ‘Meghalaya Grassroots Music Program’ has seen 500 artists provided with platforms to perform. Similarly, the success of the Meghalayan Age store in Delhi and launch of the online store has provided opportunities for another 500 crafts persons.
“These two programs will be scaled up significantly in 2023-24, with an investment of Rs. 10 crore. The Meghalayan Age Store in Shillong will be inaugurated by the end of 2023,” he informed.
He also assured that the government will continue to support traditional festivals and celebrations including the Shad Nongkrem, Behdienkhlam and Wangala. “Tourism festivals and events like the Shillong literature festival, the Cherry Blossom festival and the Me.gong festival will also be supported. These events promote local employment, increase tourist inflow and build Meghalaya as cultural, art and music powerhouse,” he said.
