Mixing tech with epics, govt charts course to boost animation, VFX, gaming sector

An inter-ministerial task force headed by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra has made the recommendations, now being studied by the government, according to top officials of I&B, Education, and Skill Development ministries, who were involved in preparing three sets of reports on this.

The committee was formed by the I&B Ministry in April following a proposal in the Budget.

According to the report, the Indian media and entertainment sector is expected to grow at 8.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate to reach $53.75 billion in 2026. Within the industry, the AVGC sector may see a growth of 14-16% in the next decade, it noted.

At present, India contributes about $2.5 billion to $3 billion out of the estimated $260-275 billion global AVGC market.

Chandra told the media that more than incentives, the market at present requires a skilled workforce in this area. There are an estimated 1.85 lakh professionals employed in the AVCG sector in India at present, and for the market to sustain its growth, another 20 lakh trained individuals are required by 2030.

In its report, the task force has highlighted the industry’s growth potential, particularly by showcasing India’s “culture and heritage across geographies”, along with the challenges. It seeks to achieve that by a combination of promoting the sector at the global stage, along with developing school and college curriculum to address the problem of manpower deficit.

“There is a need to explore other innovative ways through which the integration of AVGC with India’s culture could be strengthened and made more robust. Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata could be used as inspiration to develop online and video games, which could eventually contribute to India’s growth as an AVGC hub,” the report stated.

“A similar approach could be adopted with respect to historical and folklore-based narratives, taking into consideration the cultural sensitiveness associated with the content and historical characters,” it stated. “The role played by Amar Chitra Katha in preserving Indian heritage and promoting iconic folktales through its comic books, could do in this regard.”

The task force, which saw participation from private players in the sector, observed that notwithstanding the current growth, AVGC education in the country strongly needs standardisation of content and delivery modes.

Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy said it will partly be addressed by the new national curriculum framework, currently being developed by teams led by former ISRO chief K Kastrurirangan.

The report noted that as per estimates, the AVGC sector in the next 10 years will require 24,000 professionals with a graduate degree or above, while “there will only be around 16,000 students graduating from recognised degree-awarding institutes”.

To address this, the committee has recommended launching university-level courses in Bachelor/ PG in Experiential Arts, Bachelor in Graphic Arts (Comics and Animation Design), Bachelor in Cinematic Arts (Comics/Animation/VFX), Bachelor of Creative Arts & Sciences, Bachelor of Science — Game Development, etc.

Among others, the report recommended requirement of “at least 2 faculty” — one for KG to class V and the other for classes VI to XII — “well educated & trained teachers for delivery of the curricular content and for mentorship & identification of talent among students in each school”.

On creation of Doordarshan Kids, it noted, “With a large children’s population and high television penetration, there is an opportunity for launch of a channel focused on content delivery for children to educate them and raise their awareness on the rich culture, history and traditions of the country.”