Bengaluru: The central government, in the Union Budget 2026-27 presented Sunday, emphasised on instilling design-based thinking, proposing to train 1.5 lakh secondary schools and 500 colleges across the country to cater to the growing demands of the ‘Orange Economy’.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector is estimated to require around 2 million professionals by 2030.
“I propose to support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges,” she said in her budget speech.
She added that the Indian design industry is expanding rapidly and that there is a shortage of designers.
“I propose to establish through challenge route, a new National Institute of Design to boost design education and development in the eastern region of India,” the minister said.
The media and entertainment sector in India has recorded high growth rates in the last few years, powered by digital innovation, demand driven by higher smart phone adaptation and usage by youngsters, surge in creative entrepreneurship and other factors.
The government of India has projected the sector’s growth rate at about 7 percent, which is estimated to reach approximately Rs 3 lakh crore by 2027.
“The national outlook envisions this ecosystem scaling up to $100 billion (Rs 9 lakh crore approximately) by 2030, signalling a decisive shift from a content-consuming nation to a global creator and exporter of intellectual property,” the government said in a statement last November, adding that the sector contributes significantly to job creation.
Supporting the media and entertainment sector, it added that India offers “40 to 60 percent cost advantage in animation and VFX services” as well as the presence of a large skilled workforce.
India’s growing global resonance, backed by the fact that nearly 25 percent of viewership for India’s OTT content is from overseas, reflects not only commercial appeal but its expanding “cultural diplomacy”.
In 2022, a dedicated AVGC Promotion Task Force was set up and projected the creation of around 20 lakh direct and indirect jobs in the next 10 years.
Also Read: Budget’s ‘Orange Economy’ push. Why govt is backing animation, gaming, VFX, comics
State contribution
In line with national policy, states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and others have come up with significant policy frameworks to capitalise on the opportunity.
Karnataka has a healthy 20 percent share in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector and has a workforce of around 15,000 in the sector, according to the Karnataka AVGC-XR Policy 3.0 (2024-2029).
This number is estimated to double and is likely to generate 30,000 high quality jobs in the state by 2028, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in January 2024.
The southern state, with its large IT presence, accounts for 20 percent of India’s media & entertainment industry.
“The state is home to five institutes dedicated to animation, three focused on visual effects, and 12 specialised in gaming. Together, these institutions represent a significant portion of India’s 139 specialised training centres, nurturing the next generation of industry talent. Additionally, the state has established Digital Art Centres in 27 colleges, serving 400 students, and an AVGC-XR Finishing School, which has trained 842 students,” according to Karnataka’s AVGC-XR policy.
The policy extends several incentives to the AVGC ecosystem, including up to 40 percent reimbursement (maximum of Rs 1,00,000) in marketing costs, up to 40 percent on office rentals (maximum of Rs 2,00,000), up to 50 percent reimbursement on server rentals (maximum of Rs 50,000) under operational costs, and up to 50 percent reimbursement on legal costs (maximum of Rs 2,00,000) for early-stage startups.
However, the sector has also seen its fair share of challenges, including the urge to ban “online games”.
The rush to release a draft bill banning online gambling in Karnataka added to uncertainty among stakeholders of an industry that is projected to reach $26 billion by FY2030.
While states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have banned all real-money online gaming, reports indicate that online betting or gambling appears to be thriving unchecked.
India has no unified law that either bans or regulates the online gaming industry, which has led to a higher compliance burden on companies since states make laws around regulations in this sector. Some states have banned online gaming, while several others have regulated it.
In terms of gaming companies, India ranks third in the world, after the UK and US, according to data from startup tracking firm Traxcn.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Online gaming & gambling: Operating in regulatory vacuum, thriving in space between ‘skill & chance’