The I & B ministry on March 30 issued orders to merge production of documentaries (thus far done by Films Division) and children’s films (done till now by the Children’s Film Society (India)), organisation of film festivals (done so far by the Directorate of Film Festivals), and preservation of films (done by the National Film Archive of India) with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a public sector undertaking working under the ministry.
In December last year, around 1,539 persons including actors and filmmakers had written to the I & B ministry decrying the government’s decision to merge all the branches of Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archive of India, and Children’s Film Society (India) with the NFDC. The ministry, under former I & B minister Prakash Javadekar, had announced in December 2020 that the four bodies would be merged with the NFDC, a loss-making PSU. In the letter dated December 19, 2021, the 1,539 signatories expressed shock that the 2019 Bimal Julka high-powered committee report had been submitted without engaging with the primary stakeholders including members of the film fraternity and employees of the above-mentioned institutions.