The Indian delegation to the two-day talks in New Delhi is led by Culture Secretary Badal Das while his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas is heading the Pakistani team, an Indian official said.

During the talks, India will pressure Pakistan to allow the telecast of popular Indian films and the downlinking of Indian satellite television channels, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

The television ban was imposed by Islamabad in 2002 after the two countries came close to war, while the embargo on Indian films dates back to 1965 when the rivals fought one of their three wars since independence in 1947.

Despite the ban, films produced by Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry based in the western Indian city of Mumbai, are immensely popular in Pakistan where they are widely available on pirated DVDs.

In May, Pakistani moviemakers unveiled plans to release six films in India this month as part of a 10-day mini-film festival showcasing their industry.

Pakistani authorities also allowed the release of two Indian films, "Mughal-e-Azam" (King of the Mughals) and "Taj Mahal", in Pakistan last month, although these received mixed reviews there.

India will submit proposals to enhance "the promotion of friendly exchanges to improve cultural contacts between the people of the two countries," during the talks, another Indian official said.