Rs 50 lakh grant for creating original IP content in gaming, animation

The Karnataka government sets aside a Rs 2.5-crore fund aimed at developing world-class content for a global audience. It is also setting up a Centre of Excellence for Animation which will boast of pre- and post-production facilities and incubate promising companies.

Original intellectual property content in animation and gaming will be eligible for a grant of up to Rs 50 lakh by the Karnataka government, IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge announced as GAFX 2017 drew to a close on Sunday.

At the concluding session of the three-day GAFX conference, the minister announced that the government had set aside a Rs 2.5-crore fund aimed at developing world-class content in Karnataka for a global audience.

The government is also setting up a Centre of Excellence in Animation, which will be up and running soon.

This Rs 50-lakh grant is an ignition fund open to those creating 2D, 3D, online and mobile gaming. Kharge said,

"In fact, we are at a stage when animation and gaming industry is growing at a fantastic rate year on year and should take full advantage of the fact that the mobile gaming industry alone is going to clock $3 billion by 2019 from $200 million presently. We are at the tip of the iceberg and at the same stage that IT services were years ago. Now, we have moved on from services to design, testing, products, etc."

He was of the opinion that the animation and gaming industry would be a large employer in the days to come.

“As 90 percent of post-production is done by top studios of the world in India, there is a need to nurture the local animation, video effects, gaming and comics industry. We have to elevate our skill sets and the government is keen to skill those at the bottom of the pyramid,” Kharge said.

He wished that this grant would help disrupt the ecosystem and create for the domestic as well as global audience. “We are looking at a story that can speak to the world. The government strongly believes that Bengaluru has every potential to create global content and offer an international platform to the animation, visual effects and gaming industry. The government is thinking out-of-the-box and keen to create an ecosystem where graduates in this area are employable,” he added.

The state government, which is setting up a Centre of Excellence in Animation, will help build internal skills capacity, provide pre- and post-production support and have incubation centres.

Bengaluru has also won an Oscar for best visual effects for The Jungle Book and has a friendly ecosystem for such industries.

The grant to create original IP content in animation and gaming is part of the Karnataka government’s idea2POC scheme which, in turn, is part of India’s first multi-sector startup policy.

The GAFX conference drew more than 3,500 visitors and 35 companies. It will henceforth be an annual event and by 2021, GAFX will be the world’s largest such event, Biren Ghose, president, ABAI, said.