Governance
AVGC Promotion Task Force Report
- 27 Dec 2022
- 8 min read
For Prelims: University Grants Commission, AVGC, National Education Policy, Atal Tinkering Labs
For Mains: AVGC Sector and related challenges
Why in News?
Government has received the report of the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force.
What are the Main Recommendations?
- Domestic Industry Development for Global Access:
- A National AVGC-XR (Extended Reality) Mission with a budget outlay to be created for integrated promotion & growth of the AVGC sector.
- Launch of a ‘Create in India’ campaign with exclusive focus on content creation, In India, For India & For World.
- With a goal to make India the global hub for AVGC, institute an International AVGC Platform, along with a Gaming Expo with focus on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Co-production treaties and Innovation.
- Establish a National Centre of Excellence (COE) for the AVGC sector to become an international reference point across Skilling, Education, Industry Development and Research & Innovation for the AVGC sector.
- Developing Talent Ecosystem to realize Demographic Dividends:
- Leverage National Education Policy (NEP) to develop creative thinking with dedicated AVGC course content at school levels, to build foundational skills and to create awareness about AVGC as a career choice.
- A University Grants Commission (UGC) recognised curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees has also been suggested.
- Enhance Industry participation to ensure employment opportunities and absorption for students from non-metro cities and Northeast states.
- Established AVGC Accelerators and Innovation hubs in academic institutions, on lines of Atal Tinkering Labs.
- Enhancing Technology & Financial Viability for Indian AVGC Industry:
- Democratize AVGC technologies by promoting subscription-based pricing models for MSME, Start-Ups and institutions.
- Made in India for AVGC technologies through incentive schemes for R&D and IP creation. Evaluate PLI scheme to incentivize AVGC hardware manufacturers.
- Enhanced Ease of Doing Business in AVGC sector i.e., tax benefits, import duties, curbing piracy, etc.
- Leverage Start-Up India to provide technical, financial and market access assistance to AVGC entrepreneurs to promote culture of R&D and local IP Creation.
- Raising India’s Soft Power through an Inclusive Growth:
- Establish a dedicated Production Fund for domestic content creation from across India to promote Indian culture & heritage globally.
- Evaluate Reservation for high-quality indigenous content by broadcasters.
- For an Inclusive India, target skilling and industry outreach for youth in Tier 2 & 3 towns and villages in India.
- Establish Special incentives for women entrepreneurs in the AVGC sector.
- Establish a framework to ensure Child Rights Protection in the digital world.
What is the Status of AVGC Sector of India?
- The AVGC sector in India has witnessed unprecedented growth rates in recent times, with many global players entering the Indian talent pool to avail offshore delivery of services.
- Further, the Media and Entertainment (M&E) Industry is expected to grow at an 8.8% CAGR by 2026.
- As per the experts, within the M&E Industry, the AVGC sector can witness a growth of 14-16% in the next decade.
- India is emerging as a primary destination for high-end, skill-based activities in the AVGC sector.
- The Government of India has designated audio-visual services as one of the 12 Champion Service Sectors and announced key policy measures aimed at nurturing sustained growth.
- The AVGC Sector is an important segment of the Media & Entertainment sector, is emerging as an important growth engine of the Indian economy.
What are the Challenges with the AVGC Sector?
- Lack of Authentic Data:
- Non availability of data such as employment, industry size, education intuitions, etc. for AVGC sector, makes decision making tougher for entities.
- Skill Gap in Education and Employment sector:
- Creation of the AVGC ecosystem within the country requires a workforce with specialized skills for various roles such as animators, developers, designers, localization experts, product managers, etc.
- At present, the education system at school and university level does not have a dedicated curriculum focused on AVGC.
- Infrastructure Constraints:
- In the absence of adequate training infrastructure, there is deterioration in the quality of training being delivered to students, thus impacting the quality of output and human resources for the AVGC industry.
- Less focus on Research Development:
- There is also a need to develop research related narrative for the AVGC-XR sector, so that dedicated focus can be given to it.
- Absence of an AVGC Academic Reference Point:
- There is no apex institute in India for the AVGC sector unlike other sectors such as engineering, design, management, packaging, etc.
- Availability of Funds:
- At present there is no dedicated fund available for the promotion of the AVGC sector which acts as an obstacle for the growth of the sector in India.
- Lack of Globally-Popular Indian IPs:
- The AVGC sector in general has suffered a lack of original Indian intellectual property as most work in this sector is outsourced.
- Animation industry is dominated by services to other countries and thus it is important to incentivize local production with additional concessions to increase local IP.
Way Forward
- Need for Holistic Academic Curriculum:
- Most of the AVGC related programmes offered by various institutes in India are academic in nature. Thus, there is a need to develop a holistic curriculum offering relevant industry programmes.
- Impetus to be given to R&D:
- R&D plays a very important role in driving the entire AVGC sector. Therefore, focused interventions need to be undertaken for the sector.
- Need to explore the Startup Ecosystem of India:
- Aspiring entrepreneurs not only create various job opportunities but also foster economic growth of the industry.
- New inventions and disruptive innovations will enable the Indian AVGC industry to grow at a faster pace, matching the international standards.
