Rebecca Hawkes ©RapidTVNews | 21-07-2011


A weekly slot for children’s films should be established by India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan, while the Indian Government should provide more generous funding of the genre, says a senior official at the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI).

The body, which is affiliated to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, is reportedly hoping for an increase in government funding in the financial year ending 2013 to INR 100 million, up from the INR 70 million it currently receives a year – according to Indiantelevision.com.

“For years the CFSI was getting a grant of 40 million rupees, which was raised to 70 million rupees this year. Next year, hopefully, the grant is expected to be raised to 100 million rupees,” Sushovan Banerjee, chief executive officer, CFSI, is quoted as saying.

The society is also keen for Doordarshan to broadcast more movies aimed at India’s children in a regularly scheduled spot.

“Compared to other countries, our public broadcaster doesn’t have a children’s film slot,” Mr Banerjee told Indiantelevision.com. “We have talked to the I&B Ministry, which has agreed in principle that children’s film should get a weekly slot. The implementation is now left to Doordarshan.”