New Delhi, March 30 : The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday announced merger of film media ts with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). The Central government 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 ts under the Corporation will ensure a balanced and synergised development of 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 Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement here. The I&B ministry, through three different orders, transferred the mandate of production of documentaries and short films, organisation of film festivals and preservation of films to NFDC. Bringing all these activities under a single management will reduce the overlap of various activities and ensure better utilisation of public resources, it added. 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 organizing various domestic festivals, preservation of filmic content, digitization and restoration of films, and distribution and outreach activities, said the statement. The ownership of the assets available with these ts will, however, remain with the government, it added. The legacy and brand name of the Films Division will be taken further and the Production Vertical for production of documentaries in NFDC will be named as ‘Films Division’. Similarly, the organisation of film festivals that was the mandate of 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, said the statement. The Audio Visual Service is one of the 12 Champion Service sectors identified by the Department of Commerce, and the Ministry of I&B is the nodal ministry for this sector, it added. CM RJ
