The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry on Friday set up a task force for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic (AVGC) sector to boost domestic production in line with a budget announcement. In a statement, the ministry said India has the potential to capture 5% (~$40 billion) of the global AVGC market share by 2025 with an annual growth of around 25-30% and creating over 1,60,000 jobs annually.
“The…sector in India has the potential to become the torchbearer of ‘Create in India’ & ‘Brand India’,” the statement said. It added the task force will recommend ways to realise and build domestic capacity for serving the markets and the global demand.
The I&B ministry’s secretary will head the task force, which will have representatives from skill development and entrepreneurship, education, electronics, and information technology ministries, among others. It will have industry experts including Biren Ghosh (Technicolor India), Ashish Kulkarni (Punaryug Artvision), Jesh Krishna Murthy(Anibrain), Keitan Yadav (Redchillies VFX), Chaitanya Chinchlikar (Whistling Woods International), Kishore Kichili, (Zynga India) and Neeraj Roy, (Hungama Digital Media Entertainment).
The statement said the task force will also include representatives of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, All India Council of Technical Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training, and industry bodies such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
The task force has been mandated to frame a national AVGC policy and recommend a curriculum framework for graduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses in related sectors. It will also facilitate skilling initiatives in collaboration with academic institutions, vocational training centres, and Industry. “[It is meant to] boost employment opportunities, facilitate promotion and market development activities to extend the global reach of Indian AVGC Industry, and enhance exports and recommend incentives to attract FDI in AVGC sector,” the statement said.
Vivan Sharan of Koan Advisory Group, a technology policy consulting firm, said the task force will create an enabling framework for furthering the industry. “The committee seems to be balanced. It does represent the value chain of AVGC and incorporates stakeholders. It will act as a steering force with industry experts.” He added government is likely to rely heavily on consultations. “The question remains where does the responsibility reside in terms of policy action. There is a requirement for an overarching policy for gaming but that is not the mandate of this committee.”
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sushil Kumar Modi has been among the lawmakers, who have sought a framework to regulate online gaming as its popularity rises.