The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Thursday held a high-level stakeholder consultation to operationalise the setting up of Content Creation Labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges across the country, as part of its push to strengthen India’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) ecosystem.
The workshop, held at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, focused on implementing the initiative through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), which was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 and is now operational at the NFDC campus.
Addressing the gathering, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said IICT would serve as the anchor institution for the proposed labs, which are envisaged as a key talent pipeline for the institute. He said consultations had already been held on the labs’ design, hardware and software requirements, and on evolving a common framework while allowing flexibility in implementation.
The initiative is positioned as a cornerstone of the government’s “Orange Economy” vision, aimed at leveraging India’s creative industries to drive growth and employment.
According to officials, the proposed labs will function as advanced creative studios, offering students hands-on exposure to professional production pipelines using industry-standard tools. Discussions at the workshop also centred on aligning lab activities with the National Education Policy (NEP), ensuring foundational exposure as well as specialised training in creative domains.
Participants underlined the need for mentorship programmes and the creation of original intellectual property (IP) within the labs to enhance global employability and foster creative entrepreneurship. The importance of coordination between central missions and state education departments was also emphasised to scale the initiative nationwide.
Officials said the labs are expected to help bridge the gap between academic instruction and industry requirements, nurture creative thinking, and prepare students for emerging roles in the technology-driven creative economy.
