The third Media and Entertainment Business Conclave (MEBC) 2011 hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to be held at Chennai on December 1 and 2. The Conclave seeks to provide a networking platform with decision makers and regulators for stakeholders from the film, broadcast, music and new media space. The theme of the conclave is `Embracing The Digital World.’

Indian cinema icon Kamal Haasan will lead the conclave as its Chairman along with film industry captains in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. ''Our objective is to level the delegates to stay at the forefront of the ever changing media landscape,'' he said about the event. The conclave will also identify and find a solution to the challenges being faced by the industry, he said. A FICCI-Deloitte report on southern media entertainment will capture the media mood in southern India, driven by as it is unique tastes of the people. Digitization will also have major focus in the conclave with a   major focus on broadcast digitization.

Kamal Haasan told that film financing, theatre infrastructure upgrades for digital screening and the way forward for Indian cinema and entertainment sectors would be among the important talk-points during the event. Asked for his reaction to the steep hike in entertainment tax announced by the State, he unequivocally sought a reduction in the larger interest of the film industry. “It should be reduced…there is no second thought about it,” he said.