MUMBAI: Veteran scriptwriter Jalees Sherwani has been appointed as the new president of the Indian Film Writers Association. Sherwani will hold the post for a period of two years from 2008-2010.

Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Sherwani says, "I am very happy that finally working professionals have come on board the association. There are a lot of new initiatives that we are planning to put in place in order to give the writers their due. Plans are also afoot to put in place a "model contract" for the Indian writers."

"We are also planning to organize seminars and symposiums for writers, which will be a platform for like-minded professionals to meet and share their views," adds Sherwani.

The annual election general body meeting was held this month in Mumbai. Apart from Sherwani, Inteyaz Hussein and Sooni Taraporevala have been appointed as the vice presidents. BR Ishara is the general secretary, whereas Subhash Jetly is the treasurer. Atul Tiwari and Sudhakar Sharma are joint secretaries.

The newly elected executive committee members comprise Anjum Rajabali, Anirudha Pathak, Bhavani Iyer, Girish Dhamija, Kumar Gutam, M.H.Pasha, Mazahirr Rahim, Rajesh Dubey, Robin Bhatt, Saket Chaudhary, Sameer, Santosh Saroj, Shahnaz Abbas Jalalie and Ved Rahi.

The newly elected associate members are Dr. Kanak Tiwari and Nita Kriplani.