Rajasthan film incentives and Madhya Pradesh film incentives should be assessed against both project eligibility and the cost of shooting in each state. Both states publish film-support schemes for Indian productions, and the better choice for a given project depends on whether the production qualifies and what it costs to shoot there, not on which state advertises the larger cap. An Indian producer can test a script, language, schedule and release plan against each policy before any assistance is written into the budget. Reviewed against the published policies on 17 October 2026.
The sources are the Rajasthan Film Tourism Promotion Policy 2025 (the published document includes the implementation SOPs; in force to 31 March 2029; see also the department’s circulars and policies page) and the Madhya Pradesh Film Tourism Policy 2025 with its rules and application formats. Clause numbers refer to those documents. International productions follow the national route administered through India Cine Hub, with the applicant, expenditure and claim rules described under India film incentives.
The Short Answer
Rajasthan pays a percentage of the cost of production incurred in the state, tiered by schedule share or Rajasthan screen time, with a feature ceiling of ₹3 crore and a ₹2 crore in-state spend minimum. Madhya Pradesh pays the lowest of a fixed cap (₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore by the producer’s film count), 25% of total cost of production or 75% of in-state expenditure, and requires 75% of all shooting days in the state. A film committing three-quarters of its shooting days to Madhya Pradesh may meet that route’s schedule requirement; Rajasthan offers shooting-day and screen-time routes. Expenditure, applicant, release and other conditions must also be met. Both pay after release and audit: a recovery against spend already incurred, not finance.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Film Incentives Compared
The table compares the same fields for feature films; series, TV and documentary terms differ in both states and follow the table. Every row names its clause; confirm the current text with the Film Facilitation Cell in each state before filing.
| Field | Rajasthan (RFTPP 2025) | Madhya Pradesh (Film Tourism Policy 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant | Film production company or producer (cl. 1.2.1); no domicile restriction; shooting permission applied for via the SSO portal (SOP 2.1.1) | Production house applying through the Film Facilitation Cell, MPTB; IMPA or WIFPA title registration (Rules, Annexures 2, 4); no domicile restriction |
| Production category | Features, web series, TV serials, documentaries, songs; excludes ad films, dubbed films, stills and personal shoots (cl. 3.2.1) | Features (80 minutes minimum, CBFC certified), TV serials, OTT series, documentaries, shorts (cl. 10.1 to 10.6) |
| Language | Any language; ₹1 crore in-state minimum for Rajasthani-language films instead of ₹2 crore; Rajasthani films choose this policy or the 2022 Rajasthani policy (Section 10) | Any language; 10% additional component for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi (cl. 10.1.4(f)) and for MP local languages, capped at ₹15 lakh (cl. 10.1.4(b)) |
| Local expenditure | Minimum ₹2 crore COP incurred in Rajasthan for a feature; CA-certified item-wise statement, bills in the applicant’s name (cl. 6.1.2, Annexure 3) | No fixed minimum; grant limited to 75% of MP expenditure on Annexure A heads, paid by bank or online, with manpower and permission payments documented (Rules) |
| Shooting requirements | At least 50% of shooting days in Rajasthan, or a qualifying share of outdoor Rajasthan screen time (5 to 15%, 16 to 30%, over 30%); song route for a 3-minute song (cl. 4.1) | Minimum 75% of total shooting days in MP, verified by affidavit (cl. 10.1, 11, 12) |
| Assistance (feature) | Shooting-days route: 30% of Rajasthan COP or ₹2 crore. Screen-time route: 10% or ₹1 crore; 20% or ₹2 crore; 30% or ₹3 crore. Song: 10% or ₹1 crore. Plus 5% or ₹1 crore where 100% shot in Rajasthan. Feature ceiling ₹3 crore (cl. 4.1) | Lowest of ₹1.5 crore (first film), ₹1.75 crore (second), ₹2 crore (third on); 25% of total COP; 75% of MP expenditure (cl. 10.1.1 to 10.1.3). One additional component from cl. 10.1.4 |
| Release conditions | CBFC U or U/A (or OTT equivalent); 200 screens for Hindi, 100 other languages, 25 Rajasthani; A-rated and dubbed excluded; state credit and 5-second logo (Section 5, SOP 4.3.9) | CBFC certificate; A rating ineligible; release or platform certificate; promotional reel of MP attractions (Rules, Annexure 3) |
| Application sequence | Shooting-permission application on the SSO portal at least 15 days before the shoot (cl. 8.1.3); subsidy claim after release | Shooting-permission application through the FFC portal before the shoot; subsidy application after completion and release (cl. 7) |
| Claim and payment | Within 6 months of release with certificates, video, bills, audited COP statement, call sheets and permissions; committee and FFC review; decision within 40 days of a complete claim (cl. 8.2); no published payment timeline | After release with certificates; Finance Committee and FFC review; payment within 45 working days of a complete application (cl. 7); ₹17,700 processing fee (Rules) |
| Other public assistance | Applicant certifies no incentive under any other State Government scheme for the film (Annexure 2, Form 1); one award incentive per film (cl. 4.10.3); silent on central schemes | Applicant declares no subsidy from any other state government for the project (Rules, declaration viii); silent on central schemes |
Series and other formats: Rajasthan caps web series at ₹2 crore, TV serials at ₹1.5 crore and documentaries at ₹2 crore, each on screen-time tiers with a ₹1 crore minimum in-state COP (cl. 4.2 to 4.4). Madhya Pradesh caps TV serials at ₹60 lakh for 90 days of in-state shooting or ₹1 crore for 180 days (cl. 10.2), OTT web series at ₹1.5 crore (cl. 10.3) and documentaries at ₹20 lakh or ₹40 lakh by release level (cl. 10.4), each against the same 25% of COP and 75% of in-state spend limits.
Rajasthan Film Incentives: Eligibility and Subsidy Routes
Rajasthan film incentives include alternative assessment routes based on shooting-day share or qualifying screen presence, subject to the applicable expenditure, release and other conditions. A feature that shoots at least half of its total days in the state and spends at least ₹2 crore there qualifies on the shooting-days route for 30% of its Rajasthan cost of production, capped at ₹2 crore. A feature that shoots fewer days but gives Rajasthan outdoor locations more than 30% of its screen time reaches the 30% tier with a ₹3 crore cap. The two routes are alternatives, not additive, and the overall feature ceiling is ₹3 crore including the 5% addition for a film shot entirely in the state (cl. 4.1).
Disqualifiers are mostly about the finished film: an A certificate, a dubbed version, advertising content, or a release below the screen thresholds. The claim is filed within six months of release with a CA-certified cost statement and the shooting permissions obtained through the SSO portal before the shoot; a production that filmed without applying for permission has no route to the subsidy (SOP 2.1.1, cl. 8.2.1).
Celluloid Pact operates its Rajasthan unit from Jaipur, covering Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer, with line production support in Rajasthan for budgeting and shoot delivery. Having a production base in the state does not by itself make a project eligible; eligibility turns on the applicant, the shooting-day or screen-time share, the in-state expenditure and the release.
Madhya Pradesh Film Incentives: Eligibility and Additional Support
Madhya Pradesh film incentives for the feature-film route described here depend on shooting-day share, eligible expenditure and the applicable production-category conditions. At least 75% of all shooting days must be in the state, verified by affidavit and day-wise records (cl. 10.1, 11, 12). In return the grant is the lowest of three figures: the cap for the producer’s first, second or third-and-onward film in the state (₹1.5 crore, ₹1.75 crore, ₹2 crore), 25% of the total cost of production, and 75% of the expenditure incurred in Madhya Pradesh. For a ₹6 crore film, the 25%-of-total-COP limit gives a base calculation of ₹1.5 crore before assessing any separately permitted additional component and its conditions.
Clause 10.1.4 adds one further component per project: 10% for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali or Marathi films; 10% capped at ₹15 lakh for MP local languages, child-related subjects or women-centred films (₹25 lakh more where the crew is predominantly female); 10% capped at ₹25 lakh for films on historical, cultural or religious figures of the state; or ₹50 lakh where the state is prominently featured with more than 75% of shooting days there. Only one category may be claimed (cl. 10.1.4(g)), on the basis the Film Facilitation Cell confirms.
Disqualifiers include an A rating, a missing CBFC certificate and subsidy already taken from another state for the project. Each application carries a ₹17,700 processing fee and a promotional reel of the state’s attractions with the main cast (Rules, Annexures 2 to 5). Celluloid Pact has no standing unit in Madhya Pradesh; local coordination there is sourced per project.
Compare the Production Budget Before the Subsidy
The assistance only matters once the pre-subsidy budget is known. Rajasthan concentrates locations, crew and hotels along the Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer corridor with long road transfers between them; Madhya Pradesh’s locations (Bhopal, Gwalior, Orchha, Khajuraho, Maheshwar, the tiger reserves) are more dispersed and crew availability is confirmed per project, so travel, accommodation and transfer days are budgeted explicitly. Pre-subsidy budgets are built from India film production rates for crew, equipment and location fees; the illustrations that follow use rounded, hypothetical figures.
Both schemes pay after release, audit and committee review, so the production funds the full cost up front and carries it through release. Rajasthan publishes a 40-day decision period on a complete claim and no payment timeline; Madhya Pradesh publishes payment within 45 working days of a complete application. Neither period starts until the claim is complete.
Illustration A: a Hindi feature
Assume a Hindi feature with a total cost of production of ₹12 crore and a 40-day schedule, released on 250 screens with a U/A certificate. These figures are hypothetical; they are not approved awards and every element remains subject to the authority’s assessment.
- Rajasthan plan: 24 of 40 shooting days in the state (60%), ₹5 crore of COP incurred in Rajasthan. Shooting-days route: 30% of ₹5 crore is ₹1.5 crore, below the ₹2 crore cap, so potential assistance is ₹1.5 crore. If Rajasthan outdoor locations exceed 30% of screen time, the screen-time route gives the same 30% with a ₹3 crore cap; the routes are alternatives.
- Madhya Pradesh plan: 60% of shooting days does not meet the 75% threshold, so the film is not eligible. To qualify, at least 30 of the 40 days must be in Madhya Pradesh. With 32 days there and ₹5 crore spent in the state, for a first film in MP the illustrative base calculation is the lowest of ₹1.5 crore (cap), ₹3 crore (25% of COP) and ₹3.75 crore (75% of MP spend): ₹1.5 crore.
- In these illustrative plans, Rajasthan uses 24 shooting days and Madhya Pradesh uses 32. The stated MP threshold is 30 of 40 days; the additional two days are an assumption of this example, not a policy requirement.
Illustration B: a Marathi feature
Assume a Marathi feature with a total cost of production of ₹4 crore, a 30-day schedule and a theatrical release on 120 screens with a U certificate.
- Madhya Pradesh plan: 24 of 30 days in the state (80%) and ₹2.5 crore of MP expenditure. First film: lowest of ₹1.5 crore, ₹1 crore (25% of COP) and ₹1.875 crore (75% of MP spend) gives ₹1 crore. The 10% regional-language component under cl. 10.1.4(f) may apply as the one additional category, on the basis the Film Facilitation Cell confirms.
- Rajasthan plan: 15 of 30 days in the state (50%) and ₹2.5 crore of Rajasthan COP, meeting the ₹2 crore minimum. Shooting-days route: 30% of ₹2.5 crore gives ₹75 lakh. The 120-screen release meets the 100-screen threshold for non-Hindi films.
- In this illustration, the MP base calculation is higher, but its plan uses 24 shooting days against Rajasthan’s 15. The stated MP minimum is 75% of the schedule; 80% is the assumption used here.
How State Support Differs from Central Film Incentives
State support and the central incentive administered through India Cine Hub are assessed separately. The central route is designed for foreign productions and official co-productions applying through an Indian applicant; an Indian feature does not qualify for it by having a foreign client, foreign receipts or an overseas release, and neither state policy addresses combination with central schemes. Rajasthan’s policy notes that foreign productions shot through India Cine Hub fall under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s scheme (cl. 4.6); Madhya Pradesh runs a separate international-film grant conditioned on Government of India approval (cl. 10.5). India film incentives have separate eligibility, expenditure and application requirements. Do not combine central and state assistance in the budget without confirming the rules of each scheme.
What to Confirm Before Choosing the State
- Applicant: the production house that will hold the shooting permission, the bills and the claim, and its registration documents.
- Category and certification: feature, series or documentary; expected CBFC or platform rating; a planned A rating rules out both schemes.
- Dates and days: the total shooting days and the share planned in each state, with the Rajasthan permission application lodged at least 15 days before the shoot.
- Spend: the cost of production that will be incurred in the state, on the heads each policy allows, and whether it clears Rajasthan’s ₹2 crore minimum.
- Permissions: location fees and permission receipts, which both states require with the claim and Madhya Pradesh reimburses in part (cl. 10.7).
- Release plan: screen counts or platform, which decide Rajasthan eligibility and the Madhya Pradesh certificate.
- Documentation: CA-certified cost statements, call sheets, day-wise shooting records, credits and logo placement, promotional material.
- Other assistance: disclose support already sought or received, check the declarations each scheme requires, and confirm whether combining assistance is permitted.
- Funding before payment: cash flow to carry the full production cost through release and the claim period.
The state that fits is the one whose qualifying conditions the script and schedule can meet without distorting the film. Celluloid Pact reviews the brief and agrees the scope and fee for any detailed feasibility, budgeting or application-support work.
