NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 31
Parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 with the Lok Sabha approving it on Monday amid din. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952 under which the certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification was valid for 10 years. Now, the certificate will be perpetually valid.
A Historic Day For Our Film Industry!
After the successful passage of The Cinematograph (Amendment Bill) 2023 in the Rajya Sabha, the bill also got passed in the Lok Sabha.
India is known as the country of story-tellers and has the distinction of producing the highest number of… pic.twitter.com/wv5M8Sq6tS
— Anurag Thakur (मोदी का परिवार) (@ianuragthakur) July 31, 2023
- We have brought this bill to fight piracy and to further promote the film industry: Union Minister For Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur
- Amendments to comprehensively curb the menace of ‘piracy’ which is causing losses of Rs 20,000 crores to the film industry: Thakur
- Government has done away with the requirement to renew film’s license every 10 years and has made it valid for lifetime
- Apart From Cam-Cording, The Real Menace Of Online Piracy Made Punishable
- Strict punishment of minimum 3 months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 3 lakhs which can extend up to 3 years imprisonment and 5% of audited gross production cost
Replying to a brief discussion over the Bill, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said, “The credibility of Indian films has increased immensely across the world and the country is producing the highest number of films.”
Talking about the merits of the Bill, he said, this legislation will benefit every person associated with the film industry. He said, this will check the piracy which is causing huge loss to the film industry. Thakur added that the film industry is incurring loss of around Rs 22,000 crore every year due to piracy. He said, the Bill is also intended to prohibit the unauthorised recording of the films and ease the process of licensing procedure as the certificates will be perpetually valid. Lauding the achievement made by the Indian Films and documentary in the Oscar, he said, film ‘RRR’ and documentary the ‘Elephant Whisperers’ have earned laurels for the country at the world stage. He expressed confidence that the Indian film industry will win more awards in the future also. Thakur said, Indian film industry has a huge potential to become content hub of the world. Criticizing the opposition for disrupting the proceedings of the House, the Minister said, opposition is against the rising soft power of the country and the film industry.
The Bill is intended to ensure that the film content does not suffer due to piracy as the menace causes heavy loss to the industry. The Bill prohibits the unauthorized recording and exhibition of films. Attempting an unauthorized recording will be an offence with imprisonment between three months and three years. It will also attract a fine between three lakh rupees and five percent of the audited gross production cost. The Bill has a provision to add certain additional certificate categories based on age. Films with an ‘A’ or ‘S’ certificate will require a separate certificate for exhibition on television, or any other media prescribed by the central government.
Thakur further said, “The government has done away with the requirement to renew film’s license every 10 years and has made it valid for lifetime. Now, there is no need to run around the government offices seeking renewal. Keeping up with the judgement of K.M Shankarappa Vs Union of India case judgement, the government has kept it away from the revision power and now the autonomous body of CBFC will have the full authority to look after it”.
The Indian film industry is one of the biggest and most globalised industries in the world producing more than 3,000 films annually in more than 40 languages. The menace of piracy has also grown manifold, with the advent of internet and social media. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by the Parliament today will go a long way in curbing the menace of piracy and also empowerment of Indian Film Industry with Ease of Doing Business.
