Karnataka Assembly Unanimously Passes Cine and Cultural Activists Welfare Bill

The Karnataka Assembly has passed the Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill 2024, imposing a 2% cess on movie tickets and OTT subscriptions. The bill aims to fund social security benefits for cine artists and cultural performers. The labor minister expressed gratitude for the unanimous support.

The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill of 2024, which seeks to impose a 2% cess on movie tickets and Over-the-Top (OTT) subscriptions. Karnataka Labor Minister Santosh S Lad announced the passage of the bill in a post on social media platform X.

'The Karnataka Cinema and Cultural Workers Welfare Bill - 2024 was introduced in the Assembly on Tuesday. Many members of the House expressed their appreciation by giving suggestions and instructions about the bill. The bill was unanimously passed in the assembly,' Lad posted on X. He thanked the Chief Minister, the assembly president, and other members for their support.

'I am thankful to the honorable Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, honorable president of the assembly, cabinet colleagues, and all the members who gave their consent to provide such a unique service to the servants of Kannada Goddess,' he added. The bill aims to cover social security benefits like ESI and PF for cine artists and cultural performers.

Earlier, on July 20, the Karnataka government proposed a new cess ranging from 1% to 2% on cinema tickets and OTT subscriptions to back film and cultural workers. The specific rate of the cess will be determined by the government in due course. The bill also calls for a seven-member welfare board to manage funds from the cess to support social security schemes, affecting approximately 2,355 industry workers including artists and technicians.

The Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill of 2024 proposes a phased implementation plan to avoid financial strain on the state budget, emphasizing the importance of controlled financial impact.

(With inputs from agencies.)