Kerala Cabinet gives nod to policy for animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, XR

Kerala’s cabinet has approved a new Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector policy. The state wants to create 50,000 jobs in the sector by 2029 with policy interventions from the school level to the university level.

The state government in a statement said the Kerala Startup Mission, KSIDC (Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation), KSFC (Kerala State Film Development Corporation), C-DIT (Centre for Development of Imaging Technology), K-FON (Kerala Fiber Optic Network), K-DISC (Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council) and other institutions will be leveraged to grow the sector.

The state government will also set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to provide leadership, best practices, research, support, training of trainers and skill training for the sector. It will conduct courses in teh fields of visual effects, e-sports, game design, editing, quality testing, sound design and engineering, virtual reality, augmented reality, marketing and more. Professionals in the field will be hired as “professors of practice” at the centre.

A catalyst fund with Rs 200 crores will be created for this effort while the government will a Rs 50 crore research fund will be made available for the next five years.