State-owned OTT is boosting creative economy: Meghalaya Govt.

Chief Minister of Meghalaya Konrad K. Sangma and Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh (on his left) with award-winning content creators for the state-owned OTT platform. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements

The Meghalaya government-owned OTT platform has helped boost the creative economy in the northeastern state, the government said.

Hello Meghalaya, the second state-owned OTT platform after Kerala, was launched on July 11. In five months, the app recorded more than 3.14 lakh downloads, nearly two lakh registrations, thousands of views, content downloads, and content shares.

Officials said Hello Meghalaya commands a strong social media presence during this period with around 9,000 YouTube, 5,000 Instagram, and over 4,000 Facebook members.

On December 18, Meghalaya’s tourism department organized a conference in the state capital Shillong to highlight the growing popularity of the OTT platform.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma launched the guidelines of the Film Grants Manual to “encourage film production and promote the use of vernacular languages” through an endowment fund to provide financial assistance to filmmakers.

Corpus Fund caters to four categories of content creators. Under Category A, nominated filmmakers will receive up to ₹ 35 lakh to produce a feature film within a calendar year.

Category B offers up to ₹ 25 lakh for feature films while category C offers up to ₹ 20 lakh for web series, per episode, minimum 10 episodes, each 30-40 minutes long. Category D supports budding filmmakers in Meghalaya up to ₹ five lakh to create short films.

“We have been able to take the OTT platform to the next level in the last six months. We are happy with the response we have received,” he urged the creative youth of the state to take advantage of the programs run by the state government.

The conclave presented an award ceremony highlighting the importance of various stories, honoring storytellers in genres such as films, web series, and documentaries. The winners of each category received a cash prize of Rs.

Additionally, five beneficiaries from the state were recognized with Rs 10,000 each as a token of appreciation for their contribution to the success of the Hello Meghalaya app.

Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh said the government decided to reach out to filmmakers with a purpose. “We look forward to the day when they are in a position to stand on their own,” he said.