Ministry of Information & Broadcasting press release · 13 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

Certification of Films as Per Statutory Provisions; Certification Timelines Reduced

PRID2239732 MinistryMinistry of Information & Broadcasting Released13 March 2026 Reading8 min

Posted On: 13 MAR 2026 5:49PM by PIB Delhi The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, certifies films for public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, and the guidelines issued thereunder. Cuts or modifications are recommended only if the content violates statutory parameters concerning sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence. The year-wise details of films (both digital and video) certified by CBFC and the films refused certification during the last 5 years are given below: Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Total Films certified 8299 12719 18070 17431 15444 Films certified with cuts/modifications 1475 1911 2205 2440 3033 Refused certification 0 0 1 0 2 Over the last five years (2020–21 to 2024–25), CBFC has certified 71,963 films. The category wise break up of films is as follows: Certification Category Total films certified (2022-21 to 2024-25) U 41,817 UA* 28,268 A 1,878 S 0 *Age based sub-categories under the UA category were introduced vide the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules. 2024. As per Rule 37 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the prescribed time limit for certification of films is 48 working days. With the implementation of the Online Certification System, the present average time taken for certification is 22 working days for feature films and 3 working days for short films. The Cinematograph Act provides for an appeal against the order of the Board before a High Court. Such cases are dealt with in accordance with the outcome of the judicial proceedings. The year-wise details of the decisions challenged before the High Courts are given below: Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Challenged before High Court 2 4 1 4 10 This Information was submitted by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan in the Rajya Sabha in response to questions asked by Shri Mallikarjun Kharge. **** Mahesh Kumar/Riya Rani (Release ID: 2239732) Visitor Counter : 747 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी , Bengali , Bengali-TR , Telugu , Kannada Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Certification of Films as Per Statutory Provisions; Certification Timelines Reduced Posted On: 13 MAR 2026 5:49PM by PIB Delhi The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, certifies films for public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, and the guidelines issued thereunder. Cuts or modifications are recommended only if the content violates statutory parameters concerning sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence. The year-wise details of films (both digital and video) certified by CBFC and the films refused certification during the last 5 years are given below: Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Total Films certified 8299 12719 18070 17431 15444 Films certified with cuts/modifications 1475 1911 2205 2440 3033 Refused certification 0 0 1 0 2 Over the last five years (2020–21 to 2024–25), CBFC has certified 71,963 films. The category wise break up of films is as follows: Certification Category Total films certified (2022-21 to 2024-25) U 41,817 UA* 28,268 A 1,878 S 0 *Age based sub-categories under the UA category were introduced vide the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules. 2024. As per Rule 37 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the prescribed time limit for certification of films is 48 working days. With the implementation of the Online Certification System, the present average time taken for certification is 22 working days for feature films and 3 working days for short films. The Cinematograph Act provides for an appeal against the order of the Board before a High Court. Such cases are dealt with in accordance with the outcome of the judicial proceedings. The year-wise details of the decisions challenged before the High Courts are given below: Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Challenged before High Court 2 4 1 4 10 This Information was submitted by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan in the Rajya Sabha in response to questions asked by Shri Mallikarjun Kharge. **** Mahesh Kumar/Riya Rani (Release ID: 2239732) The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, certifies films for public exhibition under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, and the guidelines issued thereunder. Cuts or modifications are recommended only if the content violates statutory parameters concerning sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence.   The year-wise details of films (both digital and video) certified by CBFC and the films refused certification during the last 5 years are given below: <table border="1" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:127.35pt"> Year </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 2020-21 </td> <td style="width:63.75pt"> 2021-22 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 2022-23 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 2023-24 </td> <td style="width:68.3pt"> 2024-25 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:127.35pt"> Total Films certified </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 8299 </td> <td style="width:63.75pt"> 12719 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 18070 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 17431 </td> <td style="width:68.3pt"> 15444 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:127.35pt"> Films certified with cuts/modifications </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 1475 </td> <td style="width:63.75pt"> 1911 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 2205 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 2440 </td> <td style="width:68.3pt"> 3033 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:127.35pt"> Refused certification </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 0 </td> <td style="width:63.75pt"> 0 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 1 </td> <td style="width:63.8pt"> 0 </td> <td style="width:68.3pt"> 2 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>   Over the last five years (2020–21 to 2024–25), CBFC has certified 71,963 films. The category wise break up of films is as follows: <table border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:225.4pt"> Certification Category </td> <td style="width:225.4pt"> Total films certified (2022-21 to 2024-25) </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:225.4pt"> U </td> <td style="width:225.4pt"> 41,817 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:225.4pt"> UA* </td> <td style="width:225.4pt"> 28,268 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:225.4pt"> A </td> <td style="width:225.4pt"> 1,878 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:225.4pt"> S </td> <td style="width:225.4pt"> 0 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> *Age based sub-categories under the UA category were introduced vide the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules. 2024. As per Rule 37 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the prescribed time limit for certification of films is 48 working days. With the implementation of the Online Certification System, the present average time taken for certification is 22 working days for feature films and 3 working days for short films. The Cinematograph Act provides for an appeal against the order of the Board before a High Court. Such cases are dealt with in accordance with the outcome of the judicial proceedings. The year-wise details of the decisions challenged before the High Courts are given below: <table border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:191.15pt"> Year </td> <td style="width:56.7pt"> 2021 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 2022 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 2023 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 2024 </td> <td style="width:54.15pt"> 2025 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:191.15pt"> Challenged before High Court </td> <td style="width:56.7pt"> 2 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 4 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 1 </td> <td style="width:49.6pt"> 4 </td> <td style="width:54.15pt"> 10 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> This Information was submitted by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan in the Rajya Sabha in response to questions asked by Shri Mallikarjun Kharge. **** Mahesh Kumar/Riya Rani " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); tmp.innerHTML = CleanHtml(html); return tmp.textContent || tmp.innerText || ""; } $(document).ready(function () { //for responsive tables $("table").each(function () { if (!$(this).closest(".table-responsive").length) { $(this).wrap(" "); } }); var width = $(window).width(); if (width $(document).ready(function () { var width = $(window).width(); if (width @media print { .sticky-social, .sticky-social_mb, .pull-right, #printPDF { display: none !important; } } .f_vl { padding-right: 30px; font-size: 17px; cursor: pointer; } .log_oo { // width: 20%; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .log_oo img { width: 150px; /*width: 100%; height: auto;*/ } .sticky-social_mb { position: fixed; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 100%; } .social_mb { list-style: none; display: flex; width: 100%; margin-bottom: -8px; } .social_mb a { padding: 8px 0px; font-size: 30px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; width: 20% !important; text-align: center; } .section1 { position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; width: 100%; } .sticky-social { position: fixed; top: 20px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; } .social { list-style: none; } .social a li { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 25px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; } .social a li:hover {

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Certification of Films as Per Statutory Provisions; Certification Timelines Reduced

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