NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality (AVGC-XR) sector on lines of the IITs and IIMs to anchor the animation ecosystem in the country.
As per the information provided by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 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.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of the NCoE as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013 in India with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) representing the industry bodies as partners with the government.
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”.
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. (ANI)