Overview
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified revised film certification guidelines on September 16, 2026 that replace the 1991 framework and take immediate effect for theatrical releases.
- Under the new rules any scene showing consumption, use or trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances must carry the statutory warning: “Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No to Drugs.”
- The guidelines largely retain existing limits on glorifying or justifying violence, sexual violence, child abuse, cruelty to animals and degrading portrayals of women and add language restricting content that promotes communal, anti‑scientific or anti‑national attitudes or strains India’s foreign relations.
- The Centre has reconstituted an 18‑member CBFC with Shashi Shekhar Vempati as chair, and the notification has prompted swift social‑media backlash and industry concern about how the board will apply the rules and whether enforcement will be selective.
- The change builds on recent I&B advisories for OTT platforms and TV, preserves the age bands introduced in 2025 (U, UA 7+, UA 13+, UA 16+, A), and revives long‑running debates about whether the CBFC should only certify films or also police social values and political content.