Overview
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified revised film-certification guidelines on Sept. 16 that replace the 1991 framework and make a statutory on-screen warning mandatory for scenes showing consumption, use or trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
- The exact warning filmmakers must display reads: "Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No to Drugs."
- Most existing content limits remain in place with the Board instructed to judge films in their entirety and to bar glorification of violence, drugs or smoking and material that promotes communal, anti-scientific or anti-national attitudes or strains India’s friendly relations with other countries.
- The Centre has reconstituted the CBFC as an 18-member board chaired by Shashi Shekhar Vempati and including actors and filmmakers such as Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi and Suniel Shetty, a change that industry groups say may affect how consistently rules are applied and could prolong certification for sensitive films.
- The update builds on recent reforms by aligning films with prior OTT and TV advisories and sits alongside other moves such as the 2025 introduction of UA sub-bands and the March 2026 accessibility rules, while falling short of earlier expert recommendations to narrow the board’s remit to pure certification.