Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Manish Tewari has said that the Ministry was in the process of issuing a notification shortly regarding the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee which would provide single window clearance for shooting of foreign films in India. The proposed Committee to be constituted would include representatives of the State Governments and key Central Government Ministries. The creation of such an Empowered Committee would provide the platform and impetus to promote India as a Filming Destination across the world. This initiative was an important step in view of the country celebrating the commemoration of 100 years of Indian Cinema. The Minister stated this while delivering his key note address at the release of the Limca Book of Records 2013 dedicated to 100 years of Indian Cinema.
Elaborating further, the Minister said that the Justice Mudgal Committee constituted to review the mandate and functioning of CBFC and to recommend measures including statutory changes to enable CBFC to deal with contemporary requirements of certification and increased transparency / efficiency was expected to submit its recommendations shortly. These recommendations would enable the Ministry to review the legal architecture for the film certification process. Tewari further added that the mandate of the Committee was extremely comprehensive and would provide the roadmap for the future. The Committee would also review the categories of certification, existing and proposed, under the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2013; to review the mandate and functioning of Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in order to make it a more efficacious appellate body and to examine the role of Central Government regarding sanctioning of cinematograph films for exhibition under Entry 60, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India vis-à-vis Entry 33, List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
Regarding the Limca Book of Records 2013, Shri Tewari said that the publication was a true tribute to the cinematic heritage of India. It had enabled the country to project the power of cinema across the globe and promote India’s image as a soft power. The Minister felicitated cinematic luminaries for their contribution to the medium and conferred on them “People of the Year” Awards. The Minister felicitated Ms. Shabana Azmi, Santosh Sivan, Jahnu Barua, Prabhu Deva, Mike Pandey, Dr. K. Viswanath on the occasion.
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