The National Film Awards aim at encouraging the production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence and social relevance contributing to the understanding and appreciation of cultures of different regions of the country in cinematic form, thereby also promoting integration and unity of the nation.

In case of Feature films there are 30 different awards which include:

Best Feature Film, Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director, Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration and awards for films in regional languages.

Non Feature Films carry 22 different awards which include:

Best Non-feature film, Best Debut Non-feature film of a Director, Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film and Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/compilation film

Only films certified by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) are eligible for entry in these awards. In addition, there is also a National Award for Best Writing on Cinema which consists of two different awards – Best Book on Cinema and Best Critic.

The deadline for submission of entries has been kept for 7th April 2011.

There will be a two tier system i.e. Regional Jury and Central Jury for making selection for the various categories of awards.

Government of India also gives Indian cinema’s highest honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to a film personality for his/her outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema.