Budget to support AVGC content creator labs in 15,000 schools, 500 colleges: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced support for setting up content creator labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. ''India's Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector is a growing industry, projected to require two million professionals by 2030,'' Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. ''I propose to support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, in setting up AVGC content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges,'' the finance minister said. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been allocated Rs 4,551.94 crore in the Union Budget, with a substantial amount marked for Prasar Bharati, India's public broadcaster, along with funds for talent development in animation, visual effects and gaming and supporting the community radio movement. An allocation of Rs 250 crore has been made for talent development in the AVGC sector, under which the government promotes India and its youth as leaders in content creation. The Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) welcomed the focused push on skilling for the AVGC sector, and described it as a strong validation of industry-led recommendations to build next-generation, interactive media workforce. ''The announcement of AVGC content creator labs in schools and colleges is a landmark step toward building India's next generation of game designers and developers,'' Manish Agarwal, board member, GDAI, said. ''We strongly welcome this move, which will significantly accelerate the growth of gaming, AVGC-XR, and interactive media careers across the country,'' he added.