Telugu Television Industry Meet with Managing Director Smt. Priyanka IAS

A meeting was held this evening at the Information Bhavan between several leading figures and workers from the Telugu television industry and Smt. Priyanka IAS, Managing Director of the Telangana State Film, TV and Theatre Development Corporation, to discuss major issues faced by workers in the industry and to seek solutions. The corporation’s Executive Director, Shri Kishore Babu, also participated in the meeting.

Under the leadership of Shri Nagabala Suresh Kumar, Founder President of the Telugu Television Workers and Technicians Federation, the meeting was attended by several actors and artists, including TV actors Ashok Kumar, G.L. Srinivas, Lahari, Madhu Priya, Manik, actress Suryakala, Directors and Writers Association Presidents Shri Prem Raj and Narendra, Telugu Telangana Cine-TV Artists Association Presidents Raj Shekhar, Gopala Krishna, M.S. Prasad, Chittaranjan Das, cine-TV lyricist Venigalla Rambabu, Satyam Yabi Master, Akkineni Sridhar Lakshmi, Dr. Sriram Datti, Sriram Raju Lakshminarayana, Bhaskarla Vasu, Narender Reddy, RDS Prakash, and about 60 other members.

Currently, the Telugu television industry in India has grown to great heights. Beginning with the half-hour program Chitralahari on Doordarshan, it has now expanded to 148 satellite channels, 82 YouTube channels, and 9 OTT platforms, with approximately 180 daily shootings. This industry directly provides employment to about 20,000 people and indirectly to around 1,26,000 people. In addition to entertaining millions of viewers, the TV industry also generates thousands of crores of rupees in revenue through taxes such as TDS and GST for both central and state governments.

However, despite its massive contribution, the industry currently lacks government recognition, employment support, and financial assistance from both central and state governments.
Hence, Telugu television industry representatives requested the Managing Director to:

Establish a “TV Nagar” for television workers and technicians.
Provide double-bedroom houses for poor and homeless workers.
Introduce life and accident insurance schemes.
Provide a monthly pension of Rs.10,000 for workers and technicians aged 60 and above.
Present annual awards in the names of T.L. Kantha Rao and Paidi Jairaj.
Conduct seminars and workshops to enhance professional skills.
The delegation submitted a formal petition outlining these requests to Managing Director Smt. Priyanka IAS.

Managing Director Smt. Priyanka IAS stated:
She acknowledged that the production of films, TV shows, and OTT content is happening at a record level not only in India but globally. She assured that under the leadership of Telangana Chief Minister Shri Revanth Reddy, efforts will be made to recognize and support the TV industry just like other sectors. She promised to bring these concerns to the attention of the Chief Minister, the Minister for Information and Cinematography, and the Corporation’s Chairman, Shri Dil Raju. She also stated that she would work towards providing facilities such as the TV Nagar, life and accident insurance, and pensions, and that she would discuss financial aspects of the proposals with the Chief Minister.

On this occasion, the book History of Television, authored by Director-Producer Lakshman Rekha Gopala Krishna, was released, along with the brochure for the upcoming Film and Television Awards organized by Bussa Balaraju.