Shashi Shekhar Vempati appointed Chairperson of CBFC

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, former CEO of Prasar Bharati and a Padma Shri awardee, is set to take over as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), marking a significant leadership transition at India’s apex film certification body.

He succeeds Prasoon Joshi, who was recently appointed Chairman of Prasar Bharati.

The move comes alongside Vempati’s recent resignation from the board of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where he served as a professional director since 2024. He cited personal reasons for stepping down from the ratings body at this stage.

His appointment is expected to bring together experience across policy, technology, and media governance at a time when the CBFC is navigating rapidly evolving content standards amid the expansion of both digital and theatrical ecosystems.

Industry observers see his transition from BARC to CBFC as a shift from audience measurement to content regulation—two key pillars of India’s media landscape. While BARC underpins television viewership metrics that guide advertising and programming decisions, the CBFC serves as the statutory authority responsible for film certification for public exhibition.

Vempati’s career spans over two decades across technology, governance, and media. An alumnus of IIT Bombay, he spent over 16 years at Infosys as a product strategist and digital innovator before moving into the media and policy space. In 2013, he became CEO of NitiCentral, marking his entry into public discourse platforms.

He later led Prasar Bharati as CEO, where he drove efforts to modernise India’s public broadcasting ecosystem, with a focus on digital expansion and the revitalisation of Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Beyond broadcasting, he has remained active in policy and academic circles. He is cofounder of the DeepTech for Bharat Foundation and holds roles with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication society, as well as chairing the Science & Technology Communication Apex Advisory Committee.

His regulatory experience also includes chairing a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting-appointed committee in 2020 to review television ratings guidelines amid concerns over TRP manipulation, with a mandate to improve transparency in the measurement ecosystem.

At CBFC, Vempati is expected to face a different set of challenges, with the board increasingly at the centre of debates on creative freedom, certification norms, and the balance between regulation and expression. The rise of OTT platforms and evolving audience expectations have further intensified scrutiny of its role.

Stakeholders across the film and media ecosystem will be watching closely as he takes charge, particularly as regulatory frameworks adapt to new formats, distribution models, and global content flows.

His appointment also reflects a continued preference for technocrat-administrators with cross-sector expertise to lead key media institutions, as India’s content landscape becomes increasingly complex and interconnected.