India is poised to become the global hub for content creation and post-production, says I&B minister

Pune, Jun 26 (UNI) Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said on Sunday that the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure in the country and continued progress in the AVGC sector (animation, visual effects, games and comics) have the potential to make India the preferred post-production hub of the media and entertainment industry.

Delivering the keynote speech at the national conference on “Changing Landscape of Media & Entertainment 2022” hosted by Symbiosis Skill & Professional University here, he said, “A solid digital foundation for the AVGC industry is emerging across the country and government has established a task force for the AVGC sector to develop world-class creative talent to meet domestic and global demand.

He said the Indian government has named audio-visual services as one of 12 champion service sectors and announced key policy measures aimed at fostering sustained growth.

Stating that the content creation industry in India has seen a massive improvement with “Digital India”, he said “with quality content, easy access and an enthusiastic audience, India is ready to tell its own story. success and become a center for content creation”.

The minister further said that the media and entertainment ecosystem is a booming sector which is expected to generate Rs four lakh crore per year by 2025 and reach $100 billion or Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2030.

He also said that the radio, film and entertainment industry offers a huge employment opportunity as the country leaps into the digital age of creating quality content.

“Many professional roles have emerged in the field: video editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX), sound design, rotoscoping, 3D modeling, etc. Each job role in this industry requires a specific set of skills and competencies. It is imperative that industry and academia come together and design programs tailored to the needs of this sector,” he said.

Thakur said the government is also exploring new partnerships with the private sector to ensure that Indian students are in step with upcoming technology trends in the sector.

Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s enthusiasm for technology has provided an oasis of opportunity to give wings to youth ambition, he said the Prime Minister’s ambition to empower youth has been realized by the Skill India Mission which aims to train 40 million young people in market-relevant skills.

Talking about the project “75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow” undertaken during the International Film Festival of India 2021, he said that several of these talents have contributed creatively to the media and entertainment sector and some have created start-ups. -up prosperous.

Talking about the growing start-up ecosystem in India, Thakur said that even during the time of the Covid pandemic, India added up to 50 Unicorn start-ups, which says a lot about the spirit business from India.

He hoped that more start-ups would emerge from the talent pool produced by leading film schools like FTII and SRFTI.

The minister also called for recognizing and rewarding the technicians for their efforts behind the scenes, except for the main characters.

Resul Pookutty, Oscar-winning and BAFTA-winning sound designer, who was the guest of honor at the national conference, also spoke on the occasion.

Emerging opportunity areas in animation, visual effects, games and comics, opportunities in OTT, TV and film production, augmented reality, virtual reality, immersive media skills, etc., were the main topics of the national conference.

Who’s who from the media and entertainment industry, Dr. SB Majumdar, Chancellor of Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, Pro-Chancellor Dr. Swati Majumdar, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Gauri Shiurkar were among those present at the occasion.

UNI SP SS 1710