New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The government on Wednesday announced the merger of four film media units - Films Division Directorate of Film Festivals DFF National Film Archive of India NFAI and Childrens Film Society of India CFSI - with the National Film Development Corporation NFDCThe Ministry of Information and Broadcasting transferred the mandate of production of documentaries and short films organising film festivals and preservation of films to the NFDC a PSU working under it with an aim to reduce the overlap of various activities and ensure better utilisation of public resources a government order saidThe government has also made a budgetary allocation of Rs 130452 crore up to 2026 for all these activities which will be implemented through NFDC the ministry saidIn 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 synergized development of the Indian cinema in all its genres - feature films documentaries childrens content animation and short films and will lead to better and efficient utilization of existing infrastructure and manpower the ministry saidIn December 2020 the Union Cabinet had decided to merge these four film media units with the NFDC 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 and better utilization of resourcesThe ministry had shared these major policy decisions in its interaction with the film industry held in Chennai and Mumbai earlier this monthThe 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 activitiesThe ownership of the assets available with these units will however remain with the government of India the ministry said on WednesdayIn an official order the government said that the employees of the Films Division involved in the activities related to production of filmic content will be attached under production vertical of NFDC as a temporary arrangement till further ordersHowever the arrangement shall have no bearing on any of the service conditions of the employees it said adding that they shall continue to draw their salaries allowances etc through Films DivisionAccording to the order the mandate of production of documentaries that was earlier done by Films Division has been completely transferred to NFDC The legacy and brand name of the Films Division will be taken further and the production vertical for production of documentaries in the NFDC will be named as Films divisionSimilarly organising film festivals that was the mandate of Directorate of Films Festivals has been transferred to NFDCThis will bring the organization 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 organized by NFDC are the Mumbai International Film Festival International Film Festival of India at Goa and Childrens Film Festival the ministry saidThe film 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 digitization and restoration of films and documentaries will now be implemented by NFDCAudio visual service is one of the 12 champion service sectors identified by the Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is the nodal ministry for this sectorFinancial 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 the ministry said PTI AG ZMN

New Delhi [India], March 30 (ANI): Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday transferred the mandate for the production of documentaries and short films, organization of film festivals and preservation of films to the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a PSU working under the Ministry.

Mumbai Dec 21 PTI Actor Naseeruddin Shah filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane and lyricist-writer Varun Grover were among 850 signatories to a letter on Tuesday opposing the merger of public institutions including the Films Division FD and the National Film Archives of India NFAI with the National Film Development Corporation NFDCThe letter sent to the ministry of information and broadcasting has also been signed by academics students and members of the civil society among othersIt opposed the governments proposed move to restructuremerge the Childrens Film Society of India CFSI Directorate of Film Festivals DFF FD and NFAI with NFDC which was announced in December 2020The letter stated that the move which was taken without consultation with the stakeholders is a matter of concern due to the lack of clarity and transparency in the process of this mergerIn December last year the Union Cabinet had approved the merger of four government film media units with the NFDC with an aim of converging activities and resources and better coordination to ensure synergy and efficiency in achieving the mandate of the bodiesSince the MIBs announcement of re-assessment of these units in January 2019 we have followed several notices issued by the government We hoped that an exercise as important as this will involve detailed discussions with the stakeholders including members of the film fraternity and the employees of the above mentioned institutions amongst othersHence it was a surprise to know that the High Powered Committee under Shri Bimal Julka submitted its report without engaging with the primary stakeholders The fact that this report has not been made publicly available despite an RTI application raises further questions about the legitimacy of the whole process the letter readIt raised concerns over the inaccessibility of the report especially in light of the recent announcement of the government to shut down three of these units as early as January 2022According to the letter drafted by filmmakers Prateek Vats and Shilpi Gulati the decision of the government has led to speculation that it eventually aims to privatise film archives and government propertiesIt called the ministrys decision to close the FD and NFAI as a catastrophe in the name of Indian film heritageAs critical stakeholders in the matter we are concerned about the lack of clarity and transparency in the process of this merger There is widespread speculation in the media that the entire exercise is a precursor for future privatisation of our film archives and government propertiesGiven the urgency of the matter we request the MIB to clarify doubts to assuage the suspicions arising at this stage and take immediate action to safeguard the history of Indian cinema and the future of Indian filmmakers who have been closely associated with these institutions in varied capacities The signatories to the letter include filmmakers actors writers editors from the country such as Nandita Das Anand Patwardhan Gitanjali Rao Nimisha Nair Nishtha Jain Shama Zaidi among othersThe letter listed grievances including a request to release the report of the High Powered Committee headed by Bimal Julka immediatelyPublic funded institutions like FD NFAI and CFSI must not be merged with a corporation like NFDC Consultations in a transparent and open manner should be undertaken with various stakeholders including filmmakers and employees vis a vis these institutions and how they see them with full autonomy enhanced state funding and commitment to their original mandatesThe government must declare the FD NFAI CFSI archives as National Heritage funded by public money and belonging to the general public It must commit to protecting the archives and give written assurances in the Parliament that they will not be sold or auctioned either now or in the future Concerns and anxieties of the employees working at these public institutions should be addressed at the earliest it readThe letter emphasised that the said government institutions will function efficiently when they have enhanced autonomy and greater state fundingThe government must take up the responsibility to empower them and actively work towards the preservation nourishment and propagation of the countrys cinema heritage and culture painstakingly built by government employees filmmakers archivists students and film enthusiasts of our country it further readIn view of the above we demand the current process of re-structuring of these public institutions should be put in abeyance till the pending issues of transparency and public consultation are addressed We sincerely hope the Ministry will take cognizance of our grievances it added PTI JUR RB ZMN RB RB

New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): The Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of the film division staff association challenging Cabinet decision deciding to merge four-film units; Children's Film Society (CFSI), Films Division (FD), National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and Directorate of Film Festivals with the National Films Development Corporation (NFDC) on December 23, 2020 by expanding the Memorandum of Articles taken.