'1978: Key Events

• ndira Gandhi starts the Congress (I) Party.

• The Janata Party’s Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, and the founding of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, effectively terminate the licences to Coca Cola, IBM and other multinationals.

• The All-Assam Students Union (AASU) issues a 16-point Charter, including a demand to restrict the entry of foreigners, mainly Bangladeshi refugees, into Assam.

• The B. G. Verghese Working Group on Autonomy for Akashvani and Doordarshan, submits its report. The following year, the Prasar Bharati Bill cancels any possibility of real autonomy for TV.

• The net Indian box-office take for 1978-9 is c. Rs 247 crore. Entertainment tax for the period is Rs 187 crore. On average, state governments collect 43% of the gross box office.

• The Orissa Film Development Corporation (Est: 1976) announces the financing of ‘Janata cinema houses’ in rural and semi-urban areas. The number of Oriya films reaches 15.

• Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh adopt similar financing programmes while Punjab, UP and Kerala directly build state-owned theatres.

• Panorama of Indian cinema at the Carthage Film Festival.

• The Malayalam film journal Chitrabhoomi is started by the owners of the mainstream daily Mathrubhoomi.