The state will undertake a multi-pronged strategy towards developing the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality (AVGC-XR) industry, focusing on becoming a creative capital and creating an incubation infrastructure, Minister for IT & BT Priyank Kharge said while launching the revised AVGC policy at the final day of GAFX 2024, Karnataka’s flagship AVGC Summit.
“It's not just about bringing in centres of excellence or subsidies. We need to bring in the allied infrastructure. If we want companies to succeed, we need to give them skill sets, incubation centres, infrastructure… We need to take the industry more seriously as it has a great potential for not only employment generation but to become a growth engine for the country,” Kharge said.
This would be followed by building infrastructure for testing and competing within the gaming industry along with providing incentives and subsidies, he added. Later this year, Karnataka is expected to host a game developer conference and gaming summit.
A CoE for gaming is also expected to be launched which will have a complete ecosystem of hardware, software, innovators and the government on the same platform. “We will have the most successful CoE in gaming being run from Karnataka,” Kharge said.
The final AVGC policy, a draft for which was released in November last year, is built on six pillars, according to the minister. The state is giving exceptional importance to skill development along with the creation of sustainable infrastructure, which includes the creation of an AVGC park and centre of excellence to groom talent, leadership and original IPs with the help of incentives, concessions and financial support.
The state also aims to empower startups and MSMEs in the space to build not just software, but also hardware that can be shipped within India and to the world, for which global market access will be provided.We hope that in the future, companies in Karnataka will manufacture chips, gear, Playstations, Xbox and AR/VR sets for the global market, Kharge said. Eventually, focus will be given on creating multi-platform AVGC-XR products for which product testing labs will be provided within the CoE.
The policy, which will expire by 2029, aims to by then establish at least 200 AVGC-XR companies, achieve a 30% increase in operational efficiencies, a 20% boost in creative output, and a 25% expansion in digital marketing reach in the AVGC-XR sector through targeted investments in digital infrastructure, skill building programs and regulatory reforms.
Along with this, there is an ambition to create 30,000 high quality jobs in the sector, partner with educational institutions to upskill 50,000 individuals and make exports 80% of the total revenue earned from AVGC-XR.
While promoting the growth of the sector, the state will also engage in in awareness programs about the ills and cons associated with it, including the threat of deep fakes, generative AI and addiction to gaming, for which a digital detox program has been constituted in association with the All India Gaming Federation and mental health professionals in the state, as per the minister.
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