The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has invited proposals from industry associations, organisations and institutions in the Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector for the conceptualisation, design and execution of industry-led challenges under the Create in India Challenge (CIC) – Season 2, a flagship initiative of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2027.
To streamline the selection process, the Ministry has launched a unified online portal for submitting proposals, ensuring a transparent and merit-based mechanism for selecting both the challenges and their executing entities.
The Ministry said CIC–Season 2 aims to promote industry-led, government-supported and youth-oriented challenges that identify and nurture creative talent, encourage innovation, strengthen skills through mentoring and training, and create opportunities for collaboration across emerging Media and Entertainment domains. These include Artificial Intelligence (AI), AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality), Digital Media and other technology-driven creative sectors.
The winners and their projects will be showcased at CreatoSphere during WAVES 2027.
Eligible entities from across the M&E sector can submit their proposals through the online portal by July 31, 2026. Proposed challenges may span a wide range of domains, including Artificial Intelligence, Digital and Social Media, Animation, Visual Effects (VFX), Online Social Gaming, Esports, Comics, Extended Reality (XR), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Films, Broadcasting, Music, Dance and other emerging creative sectors.
The Ministry plans to organise more than 50 industry-led challenges under CIC–Season 2, with a special focus on emerging sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital and Social Media, and AVGC-XR.
To support the successful implementation of selected challenges, the Ministry may provide a one-time grant (OTG) of up to ₹1 crore per challenge. The grant will be awarded based on the proposal’s focus, expected outcomes, upskilling initiatives, grassroots outreach, and technical and financial evaluation criteria specified in the Invitation for Proposal (IFP) document.
The Create in India Challenge is a flagship initiative under WAVES that seeks to identify, nurture, upskill and showcase talent across the Media and Entertainment sector. Building on the success of 33 industry-led challenges during CIC–Season 1, the second season places greater emphasis on youth participation, industry partnerships, grassroots outreach, structured mentoring and outcome-driven innovation to strengthen India’s creative ecosystem and advance the Prime Minister’s vision of “Create in India, Create for the World.”
