As of 2024[update], the award comprises a Swarna Kamal, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹3,00,000 and is presented to the producer and the director of the film.

[3] The inaugural award was named as "President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film" and was awarded to Marathi film, Shyamchi Aai (Shyam's Mother), produced and directed by Pralhad Keshav Atre and is based on Pandurang Sadashiv Sane's Marathi novel of the same name.

[1] As of 2022 edition, 69 feature films have been awarded: Bengali (22), Malayalam (13), Hindi (12), Kannada (6), Marathi (5), Tamil (3), Assamese and Sanskrit (each 2), Beary, Gujarati and Telugu (each 1).

Satyajit Ray is the most honoured director where six of his films—Pather Panchali (1955), Apur Sansar (1959), Charulata (1964), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968), Seemabaddha (1971), and Agantuk (1991)—won the award, followed Buddhadeb Dasgupta (five), Girish Kasaravalli and Mrinal Sen (four each), Shaji N. Karun (three), and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Tapan Sinha, G. V. Iyer and Priyadarshan (two each).

As of 2022, the award was presented to the films of Eleven debutant directors; Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali, 1955),[6] Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Swayamvaram, 1972),[7] M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Nirmalyam, 1973),[8] Girish Kasaravalli (Ghatashraddha, 1977),[9] Shaji N Karun (Piravi, 1988),[10] Sandeep Sawant (Shwaas, 2003),[11] Salim Ahamed (Adaminte Makan Abu, 2010),[12] Suveeran (Byari, 2011),[13] Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus, 2013),[14] Chaitanya Tamhane (Court, 2015), Abhishek Shah[15][16] ( Hellaro[17] 2018).