India launches Online Film Certification System of CBFC

NEW DELHI (INDIA): India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Online Film Certification System of CBFC would facilitate the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi?s vision of Ease of Doing Business and Digital India.nnThe complete automation of the Film Certification Process would enable Good Governance making the entire process transparent and efficient.nnThe objective is to eliminate the need for human interface to the extent possible. The new online certification system would be an important step in making the CBFC Office paper less and would enable effective monitoring & real time progress tracking for both CBFC Officials and the applicant (Producers).nnMore online initiatives would be introduced in the Ministry as part of the roadmap for transparent Governance. The Minister stated this at the launch function of the Online Film Certification System of CBFC here today.nnSpeaking further, Naidu mentioned that Ministry of I&B has been proactively taking initiatives to promote Ease of Doing Business in the Media & Entertainment Sector.nnThe Film Facilitation Office (FFO) established by the Ministry in Nov 2015 provided Single window clearance to facilitate film shootings by foreign film makers in India. A total of 41 shooting Permissions were given for foreign films/projects in 2016 which was approximately 33% increase over 2015.nnMinistry of I&B has also simplified the Annual Renewal process for existing TV channels wherein permitted broadcasters can continue their operations by paying annual fee upto 60 days before the due date for continuation of the channel for a further period of 1year. The payment can now be made online through Bharat Kosh Portal since 1st January, 2017.nnNaidu while emphasizing on the need to keep pace with paradigm change in technology and current industry trends, said that the Film Industry in India has been growing at a significant pace with a noticeable increase in the number of films getting released every year. The changes in the current processes of CBFC would ensure better facilitation and technological upgradation to match-up with the pace of Indian cinema.nnOn the issues of Film Certification, Naidu said that the recommendations of Shyam Benegal and Mudgal Committee were under consideration of the Ministry. Consultation with former I&B Ministers had been held to elicit their views on critical issues of certification. It was also proposed to have further consultations with stakeholders in the film & media sector. Thereafter, necessary changes would be brought about in the certification process.nnThe Salient features of the online film certification system are as follows:nn n

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• In the e-cinepramaan, the status of each application would be visible online in the dashboard of the producer/concerned CBFC official.

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• In case of short films/promos/trailers less than 10 minutes, even for Examination purposes also, the producer need not visit the Office/Theatre. They can merely submit their creations online.

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• For films longer than 10 minutes, the applicant will only have to show the film at the Examining theatre and will not have to visit the CBFC Offices at all except to collect their certificates.

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• The producer/applicant would be informed by SMS/e-mail of the status of their application and any action needed, beginning from the receipt of application to the certificate collection.

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• The transparency in the system and elimination of middle men would mitigate chances of any corruption and would also avoid allegations of jumping the queue or rigging up of Examination committees.

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• The implementation of QR code on the certificates would eliminate chances of fraudulent certificates.

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• The system envisages a robust MIS system for performance tracking and efficient reporting.

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• The system has inbuilt alerts depending on the pendency of the application to ensure that time limits prescribed by the Rules are not violated.

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• Simultaneously, a new CBFC Website has also been developed bringing in new user friendly features and important information at the click of a button.

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