National Film Awards and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Why in news: The President presented the 72nd National Film Awards, for films of 2024, at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on 22 September 2026.
The National Film Awards, instituted in 1954, are India's top state honours for cinema, given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in three sections: feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, added in 1969, is the highest. The 72nd awards were presented at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on 22 September 2026.
Syllabus: GS1 · Art & Culture; Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS1 · Indian Society & Diversity
In short
The National Film Awards, instituted in 1954 and given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, are India's top state honours for cinema; the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest.
The National Film Awards stay credible only while independent juries choose and every language finds a stage; travelling ceremonies should widen audiences, not just venues.
Why it matters
A filmmaker working in Santhali or Tulu, far from the big studios, can win the same national honour as a large Hindi production, because the awards keep a Best Feature Film prize for every Eighth Schedule language and add awards for other languages. A win brings audiences, distributors and backing for the next film. The regulations ask the awards to reward films of aesthetic and technical excellence and social relevance, and to help viewers understand the cultures of other regions. The larger issue is how public institutions support regional and independent cinema, which the government counts as part of India's creative economy and soft power, while keeping the choice of winners to independent juries.
Prelims pointers
- Eighth Schedule to the Constitution: 22 languages; Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act, 2003. Tulu and Garhwali are not listed.
- Central Board of Film Certification: statutory body under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; certifies films for public exhibition.
- NFDC: in 2022 it absorbed the Directorate of Film Festivals, Films Division, the National Film Archive of India and the Children's Film Society, India.
- Swarna Kamal means Golden Lotus and Rajat Kamal Silver Lotus: the two medals of the National Film Awards.
- Dadasaheb Phalke (1870-1944) made Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first full-length feature film; Alam Ara (1931) was India's first sound film.
- The Best Writing on Cinema section has two awards: the best book on cinema and the best film critic.
- No entries are invited for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award; it recognises outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the National Film Awards, consider the following statements:
1. They are conferred every year by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
2. They were instituted on the recommendation of the Film Enquiry Committee set up in 1949.
3. They are now implemented by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
1 is correct: the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confers the awards every year. 2 is correct: the Film Enquiry Committee of 1949 recommended 'State Awards for Films', which began in 1954. 3 is incorrect: the National Film Development Corporation implements them, having absorbed the Directorate of Film Festivals in 2022; the CBFC certifies films for exhibition.
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