AVGC Task Force recommends national mission with budget outlay for growth in sector

A Task Force for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) has presented its report to Union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur, making a strong pitch for growth in the sector.

The report recommends a National AVGC-XR Mission with a budget outlay to be created for integrated promotion and growth and the launch of a ‘Create in India’ campaign with focus on content creation in India, for the country and the rest of the world. It asks to institute an international AVGC platform, along with a Gaming Expo with focus on FDI (foreign direct investment), co-production treaties and innovation. A National Centre of Excellence (COE) for the AVGC sector should be established for skilling, education, industry development and research and innovation for the AVGC sector. Regional COEs will be instituted in collaboration with the state governments to provide access to local industries and to promote local talent and content.

There should be dedicated AVGC course content at school levels, to build foundational skills and to create awareness about AVGC as a career choice. AVGC focused under-graduate and post-graduate courses with standard curriculum and globally recognized degrees should be launched.

AVGC technologies should be democratized by promoting subscription-based pricing models for MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises), start-ups and institutions. There should be enhanced ease of doing business in the AVGC sector including tax benefits, import duties, curbing piracy, and so on. Start-Up India should be leveraged to provide technical, financial and market access assistance to AVGC entrepreneurs to promote a culture of research and development and local IP creation.

A dedicated Production Fund should be established for domestic content creation across India to promote Indian culture and heritage globally. To ensure inclusivity, target skilling and industry outreach should be carried out for youth in tier-two and three towns and villages in India. Special incentives should be established for women entrepreneurs in AVGC sector.

“With the momentum that the AVGC industry has gained in the current times, it has become imperative to develop a support ecosystem for the industry at large, to facilitate its growth. To boost our domestic capacity and develop the opportunity landscape, we must explore collaborations in academia, co-production, technology, policy and research and leverage the existing industry expertise to guide the sector,” Apurva Chandra, secretary, ministry of information and broadcasting said in the report.