By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, SEP 18, 2024: THE Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of the  National Centre of Excellence (NCoE)  for  Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR)  as a Section 8 Company under the Companies Act, 2013 in India with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Confederation of Indian Industry representing the industry bodies as partners with the Government of India. The NCoE will be set up in Mumbai, Maharashtra and is in pursuance to the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs' budget announcement for 2022-23 for setting up of an AVGC Task Force in the country.

AVGC-XR sector today plays an indispensable role in the entire realm of Media and Entertainment including filmmaking, Over The Top (OTT) platforms, gaming, advertisements and several other areas including health, education and other social sectors thereby encompassing the overall structure of the country's growth story. With rapidly evolving technology and increasing internet penetration all across the country, coupled with one of the cheapest data rates, the usage of AVGC-XR globally is poised to grow at an exponential pace.

Driving the growth of AVGC-XR sector

To keep up with this brisk pace, the National Centre of Excellence is being established to act as the pinnacle institution to anchor the AVGC-XR ecosystem in the country. Along with offering specialized training-cum-learning programs to equip both amateurs and professionals with the latest skill sets in cutting-edge AVGC-XR technologies, this NCoE will also  foster research  and  development  and will bring together experts from various fields like computer science, engineering, design and art that can lead to major breakthroughs in the field of AVGC-XR. This National Centre of Excellence will also extensively focus on creation of India's IP for both domestic consumption and global outreach, overall leading to creation of content based on India's rich historical and cultural heritage. Further, the NCoE will function as an incubation centre by providing resources for nurturing startups and early-stage companies in the AVGC-XR field. Also, NCoE will serve not only as an academic accelerator but also a production/ industry accelerator.

By positioning this NCoE as the driving force for the growth of AVGC-XR industry it will serve as one of the biggest sources of employment for the youth from all parts of the country. This will give an enormous push to the creative arts and design sector and make India the hub for AVGC-XR activities furthering the goals of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative.

The NCoE for AVGC-XR will also position India as a  content hub  for providing  state-of-the-art content  thereby enhancing India's  soft power  globally and attracting  foreign investment  into the Media & Entertainment Sector.