Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra yesterday made a strong pitch for introducing students to the opportunities in the audio-visual, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector to allow them to hone their creative skills to make a career in the emerging area.

Addressing a National Workshop and consultation on draft AVGC policies in New Delhi, Chandra said the AVGC sector has witnessed unprecedented growth rate in recent times and was expected to grow exponentially in the coming decade, according to a PTI report.

The Secretary said it was imperative to give the right kind of exposure to children at the right age, so that they have an opportunity to hone their creative skills and make a career in this sector.

Underlining the scope of the industry in future, Chandra said that AVGC sector was at a place where the Indian IT sector was in the 2000s. The IT sector has grown to become a substantial contributor in the world and the same potential resides in the AVGC sector, he said, noting that major movies in Hollywood involve skill and manpower from India.

He also laid emphasis on the need for stakeholders to work together to ensure provision of the right kind of skilling infrastructure to the talent in this sector.

Chandra stressed on the creation of Regional Centres for Excellence and lauded the steps taken by Karnataka in this direction with a number of start-ups already part of the centre.

The workshop, organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, saw forthcoming participation from several government bodies related to AVGC, along with the industry associations and industry leaders of the sector.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has identified that the skilling initiative will be critical to the growth of the AVGC sector and is committed to taking best efforts to provide the skilling ecosystem, MDSE Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari said.

According to an official statement put out by the government, Tiwari, who was earlier an Additional Secretary in MIB, explained the need for facilitating future-ready skilling in the sector for making India a go-to hub in the AVGC space.

He also highlighted the significance of establishing robust physical infrastructure that would aid in the learning and development of a student.

Some lighthouse States of AVGC shared their learnings and best practices during the course of the workshop, which is envisaged to provide guidance to other States, including helping them in drafting state-level AVGC policies.