I&B Ministry constitutes promotion task force for animation, visual effects, gaming, comics

New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday constituted an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force and said that the sector has the potential to become the torchbearer of "Create in India".

The Ministry also said that the country has the potential to capture 5 per cent of the global market share by 2025. The Task Force is headed by the Secretary of the I&B Ministry and will submit its first action plan within 90 days.

The terms of reference of the Task Force include the framing of a national AVGC policy, boosting employment opportunities, recommending a national curriculum framework for Graduation, Post-Graduation and Doctoral courses in AVGC related sectors, facilitating promotion and market development activities to extend the global reach of Indian AVGC Industry and enhance exports and recommend incentives to attract FDI in the AVGC sector.

" The AVGC sector in India has the potential to become the torchbearer of "Create in India" and "Brand India". India has the potential to capture 5 per cent (nearly USD40 billion) of the global market share by the year 2025, with an annual growth of around 25-30 per cent and creating over 1,60,000 new jobs annually," said a statement by the Ministry.

"In pursuance of the announcement made in the Union Budget 2022-23, an AVGC Promotion Task Force has been constituted to promote the AVGC sector in the country under the aegis of the I&B Ministry," the statement added.

Secretaries of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade are among others constituting the Force.

The Task Force also includes State Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana; heads of education bodies such as the All India Council of Technical Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training and representatives of industry bodies-MESC, FICCI and CII.

The Task Force will have a wide participation of Country Head of Technicolor India Biren Ghosh, Founder of Punaryug Artvision Pvt. Ltd Ashish Kulkarni, Founder and CEO of Anibrain, Jesh Krishna Murthy, COO and VFX Producer, Redchillies VFX, Keitan Yadav, Chief Technology Officer, Whistling Woods International, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Zynga India, Kishore Kichili and Managing Director and CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, Neeraj Roy. "

The creation of an AVGC Promotion Task Force with the participation of the government of India, state governments and key industry players will provide focused thrust for the growth of the sector by driving the institutional efforts to guide the policies of growth for this sector, establish standards for AVGC education in India, actively collaborate with industry and international AVGC institutes, and enhance the global positioning of the Indian AVGC industry," said the statement.