Mumbai: The Union Budget 2026–27 has delivered a significant policy push for the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) sector, drawing strong endorsement from the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI), which described the measures as a clear validation of industry-led skilling recommendations aimed at building India’s next-generation interactive media workforce.
AVGC Skilling Gets Institutional Backing in Union Budget 2026–27
A major highlight of the Budget is government support for the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, to establish AVGC Content Creator Labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges nationwide.
The initiative is designed to enable early-stage skill development and create a structured talent pipeline for creators, developers and creative technologists, while positioning game development and interactive media as mainstream career options.
The Union Budget has also allocated ₹250 crore for AVGC talent development in FY 2026–27, underlining the sector’s expanding role as a high-value employment generator and an export-oriented pillar of India’s services economy.
According to GDAI, the focus on structured skilling closely aligns with its pre-Budget submissions, which called for integrating game development and interactive media into national education and skilling frameworks rather than treating them as niche disciplines.
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AVGC Policy Support Expected to Scale Gaming Exports and Studios
With sustained policy alignment and industry participation, GDAI estimates that India’s gaming ecosystem could support over 200,000 trained game developers, enable the creation of more than 1,500 studios, and generate $10 billion in annual gaming exports by 2035.
The industry body has also emphasised the importance of early exposure to creative and technical disciplines to meet projected demand for over 2 million AVGC professionals by the end of the decade.
Commenting on the announcement, Manish Agarwal, Board Member, GDAI, said the rollout of AVGC content creator labs marks a pivotal step in building a long-term talent pipeline.
He noted that sustained engagement between industry and government has helped shape a skilling roadmap that begins at the school level and extends through higher education and industry readiness, accelerating growth across gaming, AVGC-XR and interactive media careers.
Industry Leaders Welcome AVGC Push in Union Budget 2026–27
Industry leaders across gaming, venture capital and creative technology welcomed the Budget’s emphasis on AVGC skilling. Nitish Mittersain, Joint MD & CEO, Nazara Technologies, highlighted that grassroots talent development and large-scale skilling would strengthen original Indian IP creation and position India as a global hub for gaming and interactive entertainment.
From an investor perspective, Anuj Tandon, Partner – India & UAE, BITKRAFT Ventures, said aligning AVGC with XR sends a strong signal to global investors about India’s long-term commitment to building the interactive media ecosystem through policy clarity, skilling and infrastructure.
Founders and studio leaders echoed similar sentiments. Anurag Choudhary, Founder & CEO, Felicity Games, noted that early talent pipeline creation could help India transition from being a large consumer market to a global producer of gaming content and IP.
Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder & CEO, Metasports, said the Budget strengthens the creative talent layer essential for India’s global competitiveness in gaming and analytics-driven industries.
Calling the initiative a direct policy push for India’s AVGC transformation, Jeet Chandan, Co-Founder, Shortgun Games, said the creator labs would accelerate XR-led game design and global IP creation, positioning India as a scalable content production hub.
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Sandip Weling, Whole-time Director and Chief Business Officer – Global Retail, Aptech Limited: “The Union Budget 2026 clearly recognizes the Orange Economy, particularly the AVGC sector, as a strategic employment and growth engine for India. Measures such as setting up AVGC content creator labs across vocational training and specialized institutes, strengthening creative technology institutions, and the continued thrust under Skill India reflect a strong focus on industry-aligned, job-ready skilling. With the AVGC industry expected to require over 2 million skilled professionals by 2030, sustained hands-on training, curricula aligned with emerging technologies, and deep collaboration between government, academia, and skilling partners will be critical to building a globally competitive and future-ready creative workforce”.
Parth Chadha, Co-Founder & CEO, STAN said, “Seeing Creator Labs come into schools and colleges is a powerful signal that the country is preparing the next generation for careers in the creative and digital world. What started as a grassroots movement is now part of India’s broader vision for the ‘orange economy.’ At STAN, we’ve believed early in the potential of creators and communities, so this feels like a real moment of validation and a reminder to keep building with even greater responsibility.”
Sayak Mukherjee, Co-founder of Creatorcult Media says: “From a digital and creator economy perspective, investments in technology, data centres, AI review, and semiconductor manufacturing signal a more mature digital ecosystem. As more businesses formalise, scale, and integrate technology, we expect a move from episodic marketing spends to sustained brand-building and performance-led investments, where influencer marketing plays a critical role in building trust and regional relevance. Overall, while the Budget may not have offered direct incentives for creators, it sets the right foundation for long-term growth. A stable policy environment, stronger MSMEs, and rising rural and tiered-city consumption create the conditions for advertising, digital, and influencer marketing to see a healthier second half and a stronger runway into 2026.”
