The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is a central agency that was formed in 1975 to increase the quality of cinemas in India. Its primary functions include financing, distribution, and production of films.
The Government recently decided against merging the Directorate of film festivals, National Film Archives of India, children’s Film Society, and Films division under one corporation i.e. National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). This Union Cabinet approved this merging to provide support for the units. This idea of merging was first proposed by the Bimal Julka committee.
The film division is one of four divisions that is merged. This media unit was established in 1948 whose main objective was to prepare the paperwork for the Government programs. National Films Archives is also one of the media units which were established in 1964. The three main objectives of this unit were: to save the legacy of Indian cinema, to prepare the documentation and research, promote Indian culture. Directorate of film festivals is one of the media units which was formed by the Government Of India in 1973 to increase the reach of Indian films. This unit is also responsible for organizing film festivals in India. Children’s Film Society is an independent organization that was formed in 1955. The function of this organization is to provide films for children with good content in multiple languages.
The four units as mentioned above were performing below the expected industry standards and were continuously failing over the past few years. The units would continue to perform the same if they are treated as independent media units. To increase its standards, the Government has approved the merging. Under one corporation, the activities of all the units are combined and this leads to better coordination and thus increases their standards. As a part of merging, higher officials were also appointed to give guidance on transferring the assets. The Government also ensured that employees of these units will not be fired. This initiative taken by the Government of India will promote and preserve the Indian culture and it will also increase the standards of Indian films and the savings.
