The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the State’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) policy.
The policy aims at driving the inception and expansion of 250 such companies and creation of 50,000 new jobs in the sector by 2029. Through this, the State also expects to account for 10% of India’s export revenues in the AVGC-XR industry.
The joint efforts of the Kerala Statrup Mission, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the Kerala Digital University, the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, the Kerala Technical University, Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON), the Kerala Development Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) and the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission will be utilised for growth in the sector. The Startup Mission’s emerging technology hub will be expanded.
A Centre of Excellence (CoE) related to the sector will be started in Thiruvananthapuram. The centre will serve as the anchor of talent development, innovation, and Research and Development.
The CoE will provide infrastructure such as digital post-production AVGC-XR labs, post-production technologies such as motion capture, 2D and 3D animation, and high-speed rendering, along with other facilities.
It will also administer specialised programmes, including PhD to spur research and development and innovation. Collaborative research and development will be carried out in partnership with industry experts, with a focus on emerging trends. The government plans to offer merit-based scholarships to students and professionals, enabling them to enroll in specialised research programmes under the CoE.
A catalyst fund of ₹200 crore will be earmarked for industrial development in the sector. The government will also set aside ₹50 crore for research. Cooperatives with artists in the field would also be formed.
