“Gaming now forms a very important pillar and part of the overall digital media and entertainment landscape,” said Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, while speaking at Storyboard18’s Digital Entertainment Summit (DES) 2025 yesterday.

His remarks underscored gaming’s rise from a niche hobby to a major force within India’s rapidly expanding creative economy.

According to a media statement by Storyboard18, part of Network18, Jaju highlighted the powerful convergence of technology, content, and youth energy as the defining factors shaping the new face of Indian entertainment.

He said the gaming pavilion at WAVES 2025, held in May, India’s flagship audiovisual and entertainment summit, had been a standout feature — with numerous Indian gaming companies showcasing their innovation, content, and technological capability.

“From immersive tech to global-quality storytelling, our M&E space is no longer limited by traditional formats,” Jaju noted. He added that gaming now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other digital content segments such as OTT platforms, animation, audio streaming, and the creator economy, all of which are contributing to India’s cultural exports and economic growth.

To support this shift, Jaju announced the launch of the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) in Mumbai, which is expected to begin operations by September 2025. The institute will focus on skill-building and incubation for emerging creators and startups in the entertainment-tech space. “I think that will be a great place for people to hone their skills, and also for smaller companies to get incubated,” he said.

He further emphasized the need for government and industry to collaborate in taking cinema and content creation deeper into the country’s heartland. Among his recommendations were investments in low-cost cinema infrastructure in rural areas and positioning India as a hub for global content production, citing its cost advantages, technical capability, and expansive talent pool.

Jaju concluded his keynote by articulating a bold, three-pronged vision for India’s entertainment future: Creative Excellence, where India becomes a global storytelling powerhouse; Digital Innovation, led by Indian creators and platforms pioneering in AI, XR, and VR; and Inclusive Growth, ensuring talent from every region gets a platform.

“Our time has come and the future is now,” he said, calling upon the industry to unite in vision and purpose. “Let’s walk together, let us speak together, let our minds be united.”