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Tag: children’s film society

  • MIB merges film media units with NFDC

    MIB merges film media units with NFDC

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB), through three different orders, transferred the mandate of the production of documentaries and short films, organisation of film festivals and the preservation of films to the National Film Development Corp (NFDC), a PSU working under the ministry.

    The government of India has made a budgetary allocation of Rs 1304.52 crore up to 2026 for all these activities, which will be implemented through NFDC. 

    In order to further strengthen the NFDC, it has been decided that the revenues generated by these activities will also accrue to NFDC. The merger of Film Media Units under the Corporation will ensure a balanced and synergised development of the Indian cinema in all its genres- feature films, documentaries, children’s content, animation and short films and will lead to better and efficient utilisation of existing infrastructure and manpower.

    The production of documentaries was earlier done by Films Division. The legacy and brand name of Films Division will be taken further and the production vertical for production of documentaries in the NFDC will be named as ‘Films Division.’

    Similarly, the organisation of film festivals that was the mandate of the Directorate of Films Festivals has been transferred to NFDC. This will bring the organisation of different national and international film festivals under one roof, thereby bringing in more synergy and a focused international outreach. Some of the major upcoming Film Festivals to be organised by NFDC are the Mumbai International Film Festival, International Film Festival of India at Goa, and Children’s Film Festival.

    The Preservation related activities that are carried out by National Film Archives of India have also been transferred to NFDC. The National Film Heritage Mission aiming at digitisation and restoration of films and documentaries will now be implemented by NFDC.

    Bringing all these activities under a single management will reduce the overlap of various activities and ensure better utilisation of public resources. The mandate of production of feature films is already being carried out by NFDC. It will give a strong impetus to the production of films of all genres including feature films, documentaries, children films and animation films; promotion of films through participation in different international festivals and organising various domestic festivals; preservation of filmic content, digitisation and restoration of films; and distribution and outreach activities. The ownership of the assets available with these units will, however, remain with the Government of India.

    Audio Visual Service is one of the 12 Champion Service sectors identified by Dept of Commerce, and the MIB is the nodal Ministry for this sector. Financial incentives for audio-visual co-productions with foreign countries and for promotion of shooting of foreign films in India have also been approved by the Government to further stimulate the Audio-Visual service sector of the economy and promote creative and technical services. This will also be spearheaded by the NFDC through its Film Facilitation Office.

    In December 2020, the union cabinet had decided to merge four of its film media units, namely Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, Directorate of Film Festivals, and Children’s Film Society, India with the National Film Development Corporation Ltd. by expanding the Memorandum of Articles of Association of NFDC, which will then carry out all the activities hitherto performed by them with the objective of ensuring synergy, convergence of activities & better utilisation of resources. The ministry had shared these major policy decisions in its interaction with the film industry held in Chennai and Mumbai earlier this month.

  • Cabinet approves merger of four film units with NFDC

    Cabinet approves merger of four film units with NFDC

    NEW DELHI: The government has given its nod to the merger of four of its film media units with the national film development corporation (NFDC).

    The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday. As part of the plan, the four units namely films division, directorate of film festivals, national film archives of India, and children’s film society, India will now operate under the NFDC, which will then carry out all the activities hitherto performed by them.

    While this will lead to rationalisation of infrastructure and manpower, the government highlighted that interests of employees of all the concerned media units will be fully taken care of and no employees will be retrenched. A transaction advisor and legal advisor will be appointed to advise on the transfer of assets and employees, and to oversee all aspects of operationalisation of the merger.

    “There was a lot of duplication in activities and there was a need to bring synergy. However, all the work which is currently underway at each of the units will remain in progress. Our aim is to ensure good films reach masses,” said Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar post the meeting.

    India is one of the largest film producers in the world with an industry led by the private sector. Over 3,000 films are produced every year. After the merger, all promotion, production and preservation of film content will come under one management.

    The films division, a subordinate office of the ministry of information and broadcasting, is among the oldest of the four media units. It was formed in 1948 to produce documentaries and news magazines for publicity of government programmes and cinematic record of Indian history.

    Formed in 1964, the national film archives is mainly responsible for acquiring and preserving Indian cinematic heritage, and the directorate of film festivals, set up in 1973, focuses on promoting Indian films and cultural exchange. The children’s film society, India is however, an autonomous organisation formed under the Societies Act in 1955 to specifically provide children and young people value-based entertainment through the medium of films.

    All the four media units will now operate as one unit under the NFDC – the central public sector undertaking  which was formed in 1975 for planning and promoting an organised, efficient and integrated development of the Indian film industry. “The vision of the new entity will be to ensure balanced and focused development of Indian cinema in all its genres – feature films, including films/content for the OTT platforms, children's content, animation, short films and documentaries,” stated the government.