I&B Ministry
Senior-level reshuffles and postings in I&B, Prasar Bharati
NEW DELHI: A series of transfers and reshuffling at senior levels of Group A Indian Information Service officers has been made in the media wings of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Prasar Bharati to tone its functioning.
A Ministry source told indiantelevision.com that while some transfers were routine, others had been done in an effort to make the functioning of the media units better.
Bhupendra Kainthola has been shifted from the Press Information Bureau in Chandigarh as director (News) in DD News. The transfer orders of B Narayanan who is director in the Directorate of Field Publicity and had received orders to move to DD News have been cancelled and he will continue in his present post.
C Senthil Rajan who was in charge of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity in Guwahati has been transferred to Delhi as director of the DAVP.
Uday Moray who is additional director general (Media and Communications) in Press Information Bureau in Delhi has been moved to Ahmedabad in the same capacity.
Pashant Pathrabe who was under order of posting as director in All India Radio, Mumbai, has been made director (M&C) in PIB Pune, taking the place of S Srinivasa who has been moved as director (M&C) in PIB Ahmedabad.
Samrat Bandopadhyay who was assistant director (News) in the Shillong Kendra of Doordarshan has been transferred to PIB as assistant director (M and C).
B Doungal who was director (News) in AIR in Guwahati has been transferred as director (M&C) in PIB Delhi. He is succeeded by S N Pradhan, director (News) in the Doordarshan Kendra in Bhubaneswar. Pradhan will hold additional charge of DAVP.
Pradhan’s place is being taken by AK Mishra on repatriation from the Central Board of Film Certification in Cuttack.
Anurag Mishra who was director (M&C) in PIB Delhi is moving to the Indian Institute of Mass Communications as assistant professor. He will be succeeded by Jaideep Bhatnagar, who was working as director of the New Media Wing and also as officer on special duty in IIMC.
R P Upadhyay who has been a correspondent for Prasar Bharati in Kabul now takes over as assistant news registrar in the Registrar of Newspapers in India.
UK Biswas who was assistant director of the Electronic Media Monitoring Committee is moving in the same capacity to directorate of Field Publicity.
A K Srivastava who is presently the deputy director in IIMC moves to Publications Division in the same capacity.
I&B Ministry
CBFC speeds up film certification; average approval time cut to 22 days
Over 71,900 films cleared in five years as digital system shortens approval timelines
MUMBAI:Â The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has significantly reduced the time taken to certify films, with the average approval timeline now down to 22 working days for feature films and just three days for short films.
Operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the statutory body certifies films for public exhibition in line with the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. The rules prescribe a maximum certification period of 48 working days, though the adoption of the Online Certification System has sharply accelerated the process.
Over the past five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the board certified a total of 71,963 films across formats. Of these, the majority fell under the U category with 41,817 titles, followed by UA with 28,268 films and A with 1,878 films. No films were certified under the S category during the period.
Film approvals have also steadily risen in recent years. The CBFC cleared 8,299 films in 2020-21, a figure that peaked at 18,070 in 2022-23 before settling at 15,444 films in 2024-25. During the same period, 11,064 films were certified with cuts or modifications.
Despite the high volume of certifications, outright refusals remain rare. Only three films were denied certification over the last five years, with one refusal recorded in 2022-23 and two in 2024-25.
The board may recommend cuts or modifications if a film violates statutory parameters relating to the 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.
Filmmakers can challenge CBFC decisions in court. Data shows that such disputes remain limited but have seen some fluctuation. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 21 certification decisions were challenged before High Courts, with the number rising to 10 cases in 2025.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan shared the data. The question was raised by Mallikarjun Kharge.
With faster timelines and a largely digital workflow, the certification process appears to be moving at a far brisker pace, signalling a shift towards quicker clearances for India’s growing film output.
