Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023

IAS Current Affairs

1 year ago

Overview

The Government recently introduced the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Rajya Sabha.

The government has proposed punishment a fine for persons making pirated copies of movies, in a bill to amend the Cinematograph Act.
The Bill was made available in the public domain.
The proposed amendments would make the certification process more effective.
It help in faster growth of the film industry and boost job creation in the sector.

Aim

To bring about uniformity in the categorisation of films and content across platforms.
The act will be aligned with the Supreme Court judgements.

Age-based certification

UA category into three age-based categories, namely UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+.
It also seeks to bring about uniformity in categorisation of films and content across platforms.

Current Classification

U: Unrestricted public exhibition

A: Restricted to adult audiences

UA: Unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12.

Provisions for Privacy?

Bill seeks to introduce new sections in the Cinematograph Act
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
To prohibit
- Unauthorised recording of films (section 6AA)
- Exhibition (section 6AB)

What will be punishment and penalty?

It has provisions for harsher penal provisions for film piracy.
If found guilty of piracy, there is a three-year jail sentence and a Rs. 10 lakh fine.
Even sharing unauthorised content will result in legal repercussions for the act of piracy.

It was passed by the Parliament to make sure that films are shown within the bounds of Indian society’s tolerance.
In order to control films, it creates the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
- The Board examines the films in accordance with the Act’s prescribed process.
- The certificate, which is good for 10 years, may be approved or rejected by the board.
If the movie is being shown in violation of any of the Act’s rules, the police are permitted by the law to conduct searches and seizures.

It is a statutory body
Under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
It regulates the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
The Board has its main office in Mumbai
It is made up of non-official members and a chairman who are all chosen by the central government.
A regional office is located in each of the following cities: Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Cuttack, and Guwahati.
Advisory Panels help the Regional Offices in screening the films.
The Central Government selects individuals from many areas of life to serve on the panels as nominees for a two-year term.
The Cinematograph Act of 1952, The Cinematograph (certification) Rules of 1983, and the directives given by the Central government under Section 5(B) all apply to the Certification procedure.

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