INVC,,
Delhi,,
The Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni has said, a Bill would be introduced in Parliament enabling the Film & Television Institute of India becoming a Centre for Excellence. This recognition would enable the Institute to foster creative ideas and also enjoy the academic status and privileges of a University. It would also facilitate students to pursue higher studies and research in both India and abroad. This measure would enable the FTII to draw a road map, to address the growing needs of media and entertainment industry. The Minister stated this while addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting at Pune here today.
A Group of Experts have already prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed upgradation of the FTII. The DPR broadly contains recommendations for revitalization of the courses being offered by the Institute. It also envisages enhancing the infrastructure of the Institute. The DPR will be considered by the Governing Council of the Institute which is meeting on 6th July 2011. The Minister stated that this could constitute the Vision Statement of the Institute
Speaking on the occasion, Smt Soni informed the Members that the Planning Commission recently approved the Rs 660 crores allocation for setting up the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM). The Mission envisages digitization of film heritage of the country preserved by Departments viz National Film Archives of India (NFAI), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Films Division (FD), Directorate of Film Festival (DFF), Children Film Society of India (CFSI) etc.
During the discussions, the Members of the Consultative Committee endorsed the vision statement made by the Chairman, FTII, Shri Saeed Mirza. The Members were also of the view that FTII should reach out to remote areas, to tap talents available there. For this purpose, it was proposed to hold mobile short term courses in critical aspects of film making. In this context, Smt. Soni said this proposal is in sync with the outreach strategy being adopted by the Ministry with respect to opening of four regional centres of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication at Jammu, Aizawl, Amravati and Kerala. The Minister also informed that a similar strategy was being adopted by the Directorate of Film Festivals, by taking the national award winning films to different parts of the country, through its Mini Film Festivals.
Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Dr. S Jagatrakshakan, Members of Parliament Shri Shyam Benegal, Shri Shatrughan Sinha, Shri Bharat Kumar Raut, Dr. Anup Kumar Saha, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, Shri Tapas Paul, Smt. Ranee Narah, Shri M P Achutan Shri Mohd. Adeeb were present.
