New Delhi: Jharkhand has one of the most progressive film policies in India, said Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Secretary, Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Jharkhand. With the new film policy unveiled in 2015, the state is witnessing a rush of film makers from all over India, especially regional languages, he said. Dr. Barnwal was addressing a press conference at the 49th International Film Festival of India today November 25, 2018 here in Panaji, Goa. Jharkhand has been chosen as the State in Focus at IFFI this year. This is the first time that IFFI has started a State Focus segment.
Bestowed with rich mineral deposits ranging from coal to gold, the state is known as the mineral capital of India, accounting for 40% of country’s mineral wealth. But the other aspects like hills, waterfalls, water dams, forests, wildlife and religious places in Jharkhand which have rich potential are not yet explored, the Secretary pointed out. “The state has 30% of geographical area covered by dense forests. There are many scenic water falls ranging from 2 metres to several feet high,” he said. Through the film policy, the state targets to attract the attention of people to the film industry and invites them to come, see and explore the embedded treasure of Jharkhand, he added.
The Secretary also explained the features of Jharkhand’s film policy, such as incentives and subsidies for films shot in Jharkhand, training for film technicians, tax exemptions and single window system for granting sanctions. According to the policy, films made in Jharkhand’s local languages will be given a grant of maximum 50% of the total costs and those made in Hindi, Bangla, Odia and other regional languages will be given a grant amounting to 25% of the total cost. Films shot in Jharkhand for more than half of the total shooting days of the film will get Rs. 1 crore and those shot for two-third of total days will get Rs. 2 crore. Once a grant is given for film making in the state, further films shot in Jharkhand will get more incentives, Dr. Barnwal elaborated.
Replying to a question, the Secretary said that there are a good number of local artists available in Jharkhand who can rise to national level if given a chance. Many great filmmakers including Satyajit Ray used to capture Jharkhand on celluloid multiple times in the past. Other Bengali directors also used to explore the nature and scenic beauty of the state. But most of those film shots used to be done in isolation, without government support. The new film policy is expected to streamline such efforts and put film shooting under a single umbrella, thereby turning the state into a film shooting destination, he concluded.
