Private sector firms are increasing moving forward to provide support financial support to the only lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) film festival in India, Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.

The festival was launched by film maker Sridhar Rangayan three years earlier and the initiative only counted development agencies like UNDP and Amnesty International among its supporters as they were aiming to promote the issue of LGBT rights in the Indian society. In the previous year, the festival was backed by global financial giants, Barclays and Nomura.

Rangayan said, "The main objective of the Kashish festival is to mainstream the LGBT community through cinema. Getting the support of known brands like Nomura goes a long way in achieving that."

With the diverse workforce, global enterprises are increasingly backing initiatives to support eh LGBT community in various countries around the world. This year the four-day festival will begin at the Cinemax multiplex in Versova on Wednesday. Firms like Adi Godrejsr Godrej Group and condoms maker DKT India are increasingly looking at the community to tap into to the pink money.

According to a 2009 study by Forbes India and Out Now Consulting, about four per cent of the Indian population belongs to the LGBT community and the segment has a great potential with its 30 million people for several firms.