Merger of Film Media Units with NFDC: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has transferred the mandate of the production of documentaries and short films, organization of film festivals and preservation of films to the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

NFDC is a public sector undertaking that has been working under the Ministry.

Overview:

• As per the ministry, the bringing of all these activities under single management will reduce the overlap of activities and also ensure better utilization of public resources.
• The mandate of the 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 documentaries, feature films, animation films and children's films, organizing various domestic festivals and preservation of the filmic content.
• The ownership of the assets available with these units will remain with the government.
• By orders issued on 31st March 2022, the mandate of production of documentaries that was earlier done by the 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 the production of documentaries in the NFDC will be named “Films Division”.
• Similarly, the organization of film festivals that was the mandate of DFF has been transferred to NFDC.

• This will integrate the activities of numerous national and international film festivals under one roof, resulting in higher synergy and a much more concentrated worldwide outreach.

• Some of the major upcoming Film Festivals to be organized by NFDC are the Mumbai International Film Festival, the International Film Festival of India at Goa, and the Children’s Film Festival.

Background:

In December 2020, the ministry, under former I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, had announced the government's decision to merge the four public bodies namely the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Films Division (FD), Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI), and Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) with NFDC by expanding the Memorandum of Articles of Association of NDFC, which will then carry out all the activities hitherto performed by them with the objective of ensuring synergy, convergence of activities & better utilization of resources.

About the Films Division (FD): 

• Films Division (FD) was established in 1948.
• It produces and distributes newsreels and documentary films on historical events and political figures.
• In Post-Independence, films made by the erstwhile colonial agencies of Information Films of India, Indian News Parade, and Army Film and Photographic Unit were handed over to Film Division (FD). 
• It preserved audio and visual records of India’s history of decolonization and the process of nation-building.
• For example, it includes works of Satyajit Ray, MF Husain, Mani Kaul, Pramod Pati, and more recent films by contemporary filmmakers. 

About the National Film Archive of India (NFAI):

• The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) was established in 1964.
• It is the oldest of the four units.
• It has the mandate to trace, acquire, and preserve the heritage of fiction cinema in India.
• Built under the supervision of the renowned curator P K Nair, it preserves several thousand films, books, scripts, posters, and photographs dating back to the 1910s,
• It actively promotes film research and scholarship on Indian and South Asian cinema. 

About the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI):

• Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) was established in 1955 with the specific objective of providing children and young people value-based entertainment through the medium of films.

About the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF):

• The directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) was established in 1976 to promote Indian films and cultural exchange.
• It organizes the National Film Award, for example, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), etc.

All four of these institutions have historically provided original prints from their archives for screenings at film festivals, film societies, and educational institutions around the world. 

The NFDC:

• The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is a public sector undertaking.
• It was established in 1975,
• Its aim is to promote filmmakers outside the mainstream film industries of India.
• It also contributed to the development of parallel cinema.