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Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announces Indian Institute of Creative Technology for AVGC-XR sector
The announcement, made at the inaugural session of WAVES 2025 in Mumbai, was formalised on Saturday by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The occasion was graced by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who ceremonially flagged off these strategic associations.
In a move to empower India’s AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics & Extended Reality) ecosystem, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with FICCI and CII, has launched the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT)—a National Centre of Excellence dedicated exclusively to the AVGC-XR sector.
The occasion was graced by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who ceremonially flagged off these strategic associations. He emphasized India's potential to become a global leader in media and entertainment, stating that IICT is on track to evolve into a premier institution in its field, much like how IITs and IIMs have become benchmarks in technology and management education.
The announcement that was made at the inaugural of WAVES 2025, was formalised on Saturday during the WAVES Summit in Mumbai. The Union Minister informed that IICT will follow the same template as the IITs and IIMs in India to transform itself into a massive world-class education and training hub for students who aspire to be professionals in the AVGC-XR sector.
“We have started an initiative which is completely novel in the world of film and entertainment. This (initiative) follows the vision of our Prime Minister that India can take the global lead in the world in the media and entertainment sector,” said the Minister.
The Minister thanked the industry partners who expressed their willingness to collaborate, as he announced that leading global companies have agreed to partner with IICT to provide support in curriculum development, internships, scholarships, startup funding, and job placements.
“I thank all the industry partners and their top management with whom I have spoken to, for expressing their willingness to partner with us for this initiative. They will help us build this institution and help us sustain a long-term growth. I hope the IICT grows into a large educational infrastructure for the (AVGC-XR) sector. We will be following the same template that we have created for the IITs and IIMs in our country, to make it into a world-class institution,” the minister added.
Some companies who extended their hands for a long-term collaborations were JioStar, Adobe, Google & YouTube, Meta, Wacom, Microsoft and NVIDIA.
The industry leaders who were present in this ceremony included Richard Kerris, (VP & GM, Media & Entertainment, Nvidia), Sanjog Gupta (CEO, Sports & Live Experiences, Jio Star), Mala Sharma (VP & GM - Education, Adobe), Preeti Lobana (Country Head & VP, Google India), Rajiv Malik (Senior Director, WACOM), Sandeep Bandibekar (Head of Sales, State Govt. & Healthcare), Sandeep Bandivdekar (Director, Mainstream Services Partners, Microsoft) and Sunil Abraham (Director, Public policy, Meta).
Board members and governing council members of IICT present were Ashish Kulkarni, Biren Ghosh, Manvendra Shukul, Munjal Shroff, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, and Subhash Sapru. The Executive Team of IICT includes Dr. Vishwas Deoskar, IICT CEO, Ninad Raikar, IICT COO and Shweta Verma Lead Marketing IICT
During the session, representatives from IICT and leading industry partners came together to exchange Letters of Intent (LoIs), marking the launch of long-term collaborative efforts aimed at advancing the AVGC-XR ecosystem in India. The signings involved prominent global industry leaders including Jiostar, Adobe, Google, YouTube, and Meta.
These alliances are designed to boost education, R&D and innovation across animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, film, and extended reality. The goal is to replicate India’s successful IT model within the creative and digital media space, developing a sustainable ecosystem for future growth.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan; Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Sanjay Jaju; and Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, Dhirendra Ojha were also present at the exchange of agreements.
SPOTLIGHT
At the Storyboard18 DNPA Conclave 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw spotlighted the critical role of traditional media in an evolving digital landscape. He emphasized that such gatherings can aid the govt in formulating more effective policies for a balanced and sustainable media ecosystem.
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