The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector in India has been in the news recently following the receipt of a report from the AVGC Promotion Task Force by the government. This report recommends significant steps to encourage domestic industry development and global access, including the establishment of a National AVGC-XR (Extended Reality) Mission, an International AVGC Platform, and a National Centre of Excellence for the sector.
Main Recommendations of the Report
The AVGC Promotion Task Force provides a slew of suggestions for fostering growth in the sector. These include launching a ‘Create in India’ campaign with a special emphasis on content creation, and establishing an international AVGC platform to position India as a global hub for AVGC. The report also recommended the creation of a National Centre of Excellence for the AVGC sector.
Developing Talent Ecosystem
To fully capitalize on the demographic dividends, it is vital to develop a talent ecosystem. The task force suggested incorporating dedicated AVGC course content at school levels and ensuring that the University Grants Commission recognizes the curriculum for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Additionally, AVGC accelerators and innovation hubs may be established in academic institutions along the lines of Atal Tinkering Labs.
Enhancing Technology & Financial Viability
Promoting subscription-based pricing models for the AVGC technologies can help democratize them for MSME, Start-Ups, and institutions. The report also suggested Made in India for AVGC technologies through incentive schemes for R&D and IP creation. It also proposed an evaluation of the PLI scheme to incentivize AVGC hardware manufacturers.
Raising India’s Soft Power through Inclusive Growth
An important recommendation is the establishment of a dedicated production fund for domestic content creation to promote Indian culture and heritage globally. Special incentives for women entrepreneurs in the AVGC sector, ensuring child rights protection in the digital world, and targeting skilling and industry outreach for youth in Tier 2 & 3 towns and villages are among other significant recommendations.
Current Status of India’s AVGC Sector
India’s AVGC sector has been growing at an impressive rate with global players turning to India for offshore delivery of services. The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is anticipated to grow at 8.8% CAGR by 2026, with the AVGC sector expected to witness a growth rate of 14-16% in the next decade.
Challenges with the AVGC Sector
Despite the promising outlook, the sector faces several challenges. These include lack of authentic data, skill gaps in education and employment sectors, inadequate training infrastructure, insufficient focus on research development, absence of an apex institute for AVGC in India, non-availability of dedicated funds for promotion, and lack of globally-popular Indian IPs.
Fostering Growth in the AVGC Sector
To address these challenges, a holistic academic curriculum needs to be developed with relevant industry programs. Greater impetus needs to be given to R&D, which plays a crucial role in driving the sector. Finally, the start-up ecosystem in India must be explored more extensively as it can foster economic growth in the industry through job creation, new inventions, and disruptive innovations.
Last Modified: February 20, 2024