NEW DELHI: The National Film Development Corporation, which commenced production over the last two years and produced eight films, has received funds under the 11th Plan to help its production activities and also revitalize it.

Noting that the Corporation had accumulated losses of Rs 276.2 million as on March 31 2009, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said all Union Ministries and state governments had been urged to give production work of documentaries and video spots of their states to NFDC.

She told Parliament that the government had no plans to close down the Corporation and was working towards “revamping and rejuvenating” it. A voluntary retirement scheme had helped in reducing the staff strength from 211 to 141, she added.

These losses were due to the “decline of gross profit margins and loss of business of marketing of free commercial time (FCT) of Doordarshan and due to the loss of royalty after DD stopped acquiring films”, she said.

NFDC was earlier permitted to retain the money from the commercials in the films when they were telecast on Doordarshan. But the situation underwent a change with the starting of Prasar Bharati.

An amount of Rs 367.5 million is owed to NFDC by advertisement agents, and it has lodged cases against 16 such companies.