Asem Bhakta Singh, Special Correspondent North East
Imphal: (DIPR) In a strategic move to harness the rich creative talents of North East India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), under the government of India and its public sector unit, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), has announced a fully sponsored one-year course in 3D animation and VFX. This transformative initiative, in collaboration with the Innovative Film Academy in Bangalore, is tailored for 100 aspiring youths from the region.
The residential program spans nine months, encompassing 390 hours of theory and 630 hours of practicals, followed by a three-month internship at a professional Media and Entertainment firm.
Set to kick off in mid-February, the online application at https://skill.nfdcindia.com/Specialproject/Registerfor3DAnimator for this promising training program is closing on January 31. Successful candidates will receive complimentary accommodation, meals, and a high-performance laptop valued at Rs. 1 lakh, equipped with either a Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 processor and a dedicated graphics card, complete with a one-year warranty.
With projections indicating a need for at least 2 lakh skilled professionals annually in India by 2025, the MoIB continues its commitment to youth skill development through NFDC’s various programs. A similar course for 100 youth from the North East was successfully organized in New Delhi in 2023. At phase one of the training program, 25 Manipuri youths participated and found gainful employment post-internship.
This exceptional initiative follows the recommendations of the national AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic) Promotion Task Force, calling for the institution of a National AVGC-XR (Extended Reality) Mission to boost employment opportunities and sectoral market development.
Chairman of the Promotion Task, Apurva Chandra, envisions India’s AVGC sector growing from one to six percent of the global market, potentially creating 20 lakh jobs over the next decade. The task force’s report, ‘Realising AVGC-XR Sector Potential in India,’ was submitted to Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.
To further fortify the sector, the task force proposes establishing five regional Centers of Excellence (COE) alongside a national COE, aiming to be an international benchmark across skilling, education, industry development, and research and innovation. The Manipur government, with its tech-savvy and creative resources, could emerge as a regional COE, that is to be instituted to foster local industries and talents.
Amidst a booming global market, with the animation and visual effects industry expected to reach USD 290 billion by 2024, the gaming market projected to hit USD 314.4 billion by 2026, and the Comic Book market reaching USD 19.5 billion by 2028, the states of Manipur and other North East states of India hold tremendous potential to make substantial contributions to these growing creative industries. Realizing this potential requires the establishment of a conducive ecosystem in these tech-savvy and youth-populated states.
