New Delhi The budget proposal for setting up of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force will help the industry further strengthen its position in the media and entertainment industry.
Industry experts welcomed the move, saying it could help create lakhs of jobs and fast-track the growth of the sector.
“The AVGC Task Force will help India achieve the potential to generate two million jobs, as per our estimates. These are critical skills for the growth of the metaverse, and India is poised to leverage this ecosystem,” said Jehil Thakkar, partner, Deloitte India.
Manvendra Shukla, chief executive of Lakshya Digital, a firm that provides animation and visual effects for game developers in India, said the AVGC industry has great potential to offer a large number of jobs, thereby generating good revenue for India. it happens. “The creation of the AVGC Task Force is one of the first steps to capitalize on India’s inherent strength in this area. Selecting the right people from each segment of the AVGC industry will be the key to the success of this much-needed initiative.”
The job-creating potential by AVGC companies in India has been reflected before, with gaming firms in the country hiring in 2020 – especially after the first wave of the pandemic.
According to a November 2021 report by the India Brand Equity Foundation, the sector is growing at a fast pace and is expected to touch $4 billion by 2023 from around $2 billion in 2020, mainly due to the growing demand for gaming and gaming. Over-the-top video streaming platform.
The report said that the media and entertainment sector was valued at $18.64 billion in 2020, with online gaming and visual effects at $1.11 billion and $745.6 million respectively, this was projected to grow to $29.81 billion by 2023, with online Gaming and visual effects contributed. $2.09 billion and $1.79 billion, respectively, beating the media industry average growth.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said that the proposed task force will realize the “immense potential of employing the youth”.
According to Sai Srinivas, chief executive of mobile gaming and esports startup Mobile Premier League, the task force could help develop “deep tech intellectual property” to meet export demand. “A progressive tax regime, predictable regulatory framework and supportive funding policies will allow the industry to compete on the world stage. It will also help develop a workforce of young and employable AVGC professionals,” he said.
Pranay Agarwal, head of compositing for India at visual effects and animation studio DNEG, said, “The Center will need to focus more on tax exemptions and setting rules for the functioning of the industry.”
India is home to both international and domestic gaming and visual effects studios such as Ubisoft, Prime Focus, JetSynthesis and Prana Studios.
In November 2021, Apoorva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said at the Big Picture Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry that the government was working on setting up a National Center of Excellence for the AVGC industry.
In January, Karnataka was the first state to set up the AVGC Center of Excellence. At the inauguration, State Science and Technology Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said that India currently has 10% market share in the global AVGC industry, and has the potential to capture 25% of the market by 2027.
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