Ministry of I&B Constitutes Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Promotion Task Force

To further unleash the scope of AVGC sector, an announcement was made in the Union Budget 2022-23 for setting up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force to recommend ways to realise and build domestic capacity for serving our markets and the global demand.

And in pursuance of the announcement an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force has been constituted to promote the AVGC sector in the country under the aegis of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector in India has the potential to become the torchbearer of “Create in India” & “Brand India”.

India has the potential to capture 5% (~$40 billion) of the global market share by the year 2025, with an annual growth of around 25-30% and creating over 1,60,000 new jobs annually.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the AVGC Promotion Task Force shall be headed by Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and will have Secretaries of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

The statement also said that it will have widespread participation of Industry partners including Biren Ghosh, Country Head of Technicolor India; Ashish Kulkarni, Founder of Punaryug Artvision Pvt. Ltd.; Jesh Krishna Murthy, Founder and CEO of Anibrain; Keitan Yadav, COO, and VFX Producer of Redchillies VFX; Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Chief Technology Officer, Whistling Woods International; Kishore Kichili, Sr. Vice President and Country Head of Zynga India; Neeraj Roy, Managing Director, and CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.

The promotion task force also includes State Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra, 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 Terms of Reference of the Task Force include the following:

(i) Framing of a national AVGC policy,

(ii) Recommend national curriculum framework for Graduation, Post-Graduation and Doctoral courses in AVGC related sectors,

(iii) Facilitate skilling initiatives in collaboration with academic institutions, vocational training centers & Industry,

(iv) Boost employment opportunities,

(v) Facilitate promotion and market development activities to extend global reach of Indian AVGC Industry,

(vi) Enhance exports and recommend incentives to attract FDI in AVGC sector.

The AVGC Promotion Task Force will submit its first action plan within 90 days.