Budget 2026: Big Boost for Gaming, Animation Careers; Creator Labs Nationwide for Schools & Colleges

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a major push to strengthen India’s animation, gaming, and digital content ecosystem by supporting the establishment of content creator laboratories across thousands of educational institutions. The announcement was made during her Union Budget speech on Sunday, highlighting the government’s focus on future-ready skills and creative industries.

Under the initiative, AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) content creator labs will be set up in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges across the country. The programme will be implemented under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, which functions as a flagship institution of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Speaking in Parliament, Sitharaman underlined the rapid growth of the AVGC sector in India and its vast employment potential. She noted that the industry is projected to require nearly two million skilled professionals by the year 2030, making targeted skilling and infrastructure development essential to meet future workforce demands.

To support this vision, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been allocated a total budget of ₹4,551.94 crore. A significant portion of this allocation has been earmarked for Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster. The budget also includes focused funding for talent development in animation, visual effects and gaming, as well as initiatives to strengthen the community radio movement.

As part of the government’s broader strategy to position India as a global leader in content creation, ₹250 crore has been specifically allocated for talent development in the AVGC sector. The funding aims to nurture creative skills among young people and promote India’s capabilities in digital entertainment and interactive media on the global stage.

The announcement has been welcomed by industry stakeholders. The Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) described the move as a significant endorsement of long-standing industry recommendations to develop a skilled, next-generation workforce for interactive media.

Manish Agarwal, Board Member of GDAI, said the decision to establish AVGC content creator labs in schools and colleges marks a landmark step toward building India’s future game designers and developers. He added that the initiative is expected to accelerate the growth of careers in gaming, AVGC-XR and interactive media across the country.

With this budgetary push, the government has signalled its intent to integrate creative technologies into mainstream education, while simultaneously preparing India’s youth for emerging opportunities in the global digital economy.