Three different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for all India level was also formed which included some of the members from regional committee. For 3rd National Film Awards, central committee was headed by C. D. Deshmukh.[1]
Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.
President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's gold medal is now given as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film is now given as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.
With 3rd National Film Awards, new award category was introduced for the feature films made in Assamese language. This newly introduced category includes President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Assamese and Certificate of Merit for second and third best film, although former was not given as no film was found suitable for the award.[1]
The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For 3rd National Film Awards, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film was not given in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil language; instead Certificate of Merit was awarded in each particular language.[1]