India on Friday set up a task force for the booming Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic (AVGC) sector to boost domestic production as it feels it has the potential to capture 5% (~$40 billion) of the global AVGC market share by 2025. It expects an annual growth of around 25-30 per cent with the potential to create over 160,000 jobs annually.

“The...sector in India has the potential to become the torchbearer of ‘Create in India’ & ‘Brand India’,” the statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) said. It added the task force will recommend ways to realize and build domestic capacity for serving the markets and the global demand.

The task force has been mandated to frame a national AVGC policy and recommend a curriculum framework for graduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses in related sectors. It will also facilitate skilling initiatives in collaboration with academic institutions, vocational training centres, and Industry. “[It is meant to] boost employment opportunities, facilitate promotion and market development activities to extend the global reach of Indian AVGC Industry, and enhance exports and recommend incentives to attract FDI in AVGC sector,” the MIB statement said.

Vivan Sharan of Koan Advisory Group, a technology policy consulting firm, said the task force will create an enabling framework for furthering the industry. “The committee seems to be balanced. It does represent the value chain of AVGC and incorporates stakeholders. It will act as a steering force with industry experts.” He added the government is likely to rely heavily on consultations. “The question remains where does the responsibility reside in terms of policy action. There is a requirement for an overarching policy for gaming but that is not the mandate of this committee.”

(SAM)