The 9th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1961.
The Central Committee for State Awards for Films for the year was headed by politician and author R. R. Diwakar.
Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level.
For 9th National Film Awards, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given in Gujarati, Kannada and Odia language; instead Certificate of Merit was awarded in each particular language.