Animation, gaming executives flag industry concerns to I&B ministry

However, stakeholders from the AVGC industry pointed out that there are many challenges impeding its growth.

Eying incentives

There is a need to create a framework to incentivise global developers to set up studios in India, said a gaming company executive who attended the meeting.

Many global game companies are eyeing India's growing gaming market, which saw the number of online gamers rise 8 percent last year to 455 million, from 421 million in 2022. For instance, Singapore-based gaming company Ampverse had announced plans last year to set up a gaming studio in India; Taiwanese gaming giant Softstar Entertainment had started an Indian subsidiary to republish its popular titles in the country.

In May 2023, the popular game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was relaunched after being banned for over two years. It has since clawed its way to the top rank in app store downloads in India and has around 100 million cumulative players.

"We offer services in the gaming industry, and there has been a lot of success in that, but what will drive this industry is when we start creating products offered (known) at a national level. And we have to try and look at what we can do to incentivise global developers to come and set up studios in India," said a gaming company executive.

Lack of work

The founder of an animation company that provides content to Indian broadcasters highlighted the problems the industry faces due to lack of projects.

While India is known for creating popular animated shows, such as Green Gold Animation's Chhota Bheem, many studios today are not getting enough work from broadcasters, who make up the largest revenue stream for animation studios.

"We are direct vendors to broadcasters, but we are also associated with other animation studios and they are suffering big problems. Almost all the studios are on the verge of closing down because of lack of work," said the founder, who did not want to be named. "In the last two years, we were doing three to four title works (content) but now it's just one title. Many other studios that were doing five to six title works for different channels now only do one title work. Indian broadcasters are gradually reducing their work."

The founder said that broadcasters have cited a drop in TRPs (television rating points) for not commissioning more content. "Broadcasters say there are not enough viewers. Students are not watching TV. They are watching YouTube or (over the top) OTT platforms," the founder added.

Ashish Kulkarni, Chair, FICCI AVGC-XR Forum, pointed out that the animation industry is deeply dependent on the broadcasting industry and that for the last 20 years the rate at which content is acquired has not changed. Shows have not been greenlit for many years, he said.

"People who are taking work from outside India are able to survive. But people who are dependent on broadcasters here are facing a lot of problems," Kulkarni said.

Players such as Digitoonz are known for their services to international projects, like the BBC’s Doctor Who series and Disney’s Rise Up, Sing Out. Such companies have not been feeling the heat, but those supplying content to Indian TV channels are facing trouble.

Focus on local content and education

Another member from the gaming industry suggested keeping local content production outside the ambit of GST. Moreover, the executive said other countries give significant subsidies to their AVGC industries for the production of local content.

Other members at the meeting recommended bringing learning and employment opportunities in the media and entertainment industry under one digital platform, creating more aggressive awareness campaigns for students about animation and VFX careers, and having more incubators and internships for students.

Create in India

The focus on creating intellectual property (IP) and selling IP internationally was another aspect discussed at the meeting. "IP innovation will be a gamechanger for this (AVGC) industry. Also, one area in which India is lacking is selling IPs. 'Create in India' is a strategy that  says we should not just create in India but create for the world," said a member who was at the meeting.

He added that today there is no software produced in India for the AVGC industry and that there should be incentives for it from the government. "IPs are our assets. In the animation, VFX and gaming industry, our core asset is not a machine, it is the IP that we create that continues to deliver."

Additional Secretary Sekhar agreed with the stakeholders that the AVGC sector depended on international content. She said that the government aims to stimulate demand for consumption of domestic content, while also supporting the creation of Indian software and hardware products.