I&B ministry may have allotted nearly Rs 40 crore for FTII this fiscal

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) will get around Rs 40 crore of plan and non plan expenditure this financial year. Official sources said this should be seen as Information and Broadcasting Ministry's commitment towards strengthening the institution.

"The FTII has been receiving tremendous government support as there is a commitment to create it as a national centre for excellence," a senior official said and hoped that the students would end their strike soon.

Officials said that the Geeta Krishnan Committee had clearly recommended that both SRFTI and FTII be handed over to the film industry.

They added that the committee had also observed that the budget was quite high compared to student strength while also noting that there were also several private film training institutions in the country.

Nearly 350 students are studying in the institute guided by around 60 faculty members.

The Ministry, however, while not having implemented the recommendation of handing it over to the film industry, has been endeavouring to support these institutions to become centers of excellence, officials said.

A massive infrastructure revitalisation programme is in full gear, officials said, adding that the entire infrastructure expenditure within the five year plan is to the tune of Rs 80 crore which is supplemented with an annual non-plan budget of around Rs 20 crore every year, leading to an annual allocation of Rs 40 crore a year and Rs 200 crore in the five year plan period.