Image Source: Times of India
In a new first for India's digital and creative economy, the central government has announced a strategic alliance today with top international technology firms-namely, NVIDIA, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Adobe, and Star India-to set up the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) in Mumbai.
Launched on the third day of WAVES 2025, the IICT is conceptualized as a National Centre of Excellence that is focused solely on the AVGC-XR industry (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality). The initiative is patterned after the extremely successful Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to ensure that India's IT industry success in the creative and digital media industry is replicated.
The official announcement was made at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, where Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and senior ministry officials, officiated the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and the Letter of Intent (LoIs) between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the tech giants. The collaborations will boost education, research, and innovation in animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, film, and extended reality with the aim of developing a sustainable ecosystem for long-term growth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invested ₹400 crore in the venture, and ten acres of land in Mumbai Film City have been provided by the Maharashtra government as a site for the permanent campus of the institution. Phase I of IICT will be accommodated in a state-of-the-art building in Mumbai, with animation and gaming labs, virtual production studios, virtual reality studios, and smart classrooms. The institution will initially offer seven train-the-trainer and specialized courses with new benchmarks of academic and professional excellence. The IICT will be involved in education, incubation, innovation, R&D, and policy-making, and will provide immense opportunities for new creators, experts, and entrepreneurs. Suggestions have also been made for establishing regional centers in India to decentralize access and expand the outreach of the institute.
The conference is a landmark event in establishing India as the future global leader in the creative technology sector, with talent, technology, and policy convergence poised to re-make the future of digital content and media innovation.
Source: The New Indian Express
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