During the ongoing WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with FICCI and CII, unveiled a groundbreaking initiative—the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT). This National Centre of Excellence, dedicated to the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) sector, aims to position India as a global leader in the media and entertainment industry.
Official Launch and Vision
The announcement, initially made at the inauguration of WAVES 2025, was formalized today by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw. He ceremonially flagged off strategic associations with industry leaders, emphasizing IICT’s potential to become a premier institution akin to IITs and IIMs.
“We have started an initiative which is completely novel in the world of film and entertainment. This follows the vision of our Prime Minister that India can take the global lead in the media and entertainment sector,”
“I hope the IICT grows into a large educational infrastructure for the AVGC-XR sector. We will be following the same template that we have created for the IITs and IIMs in our country, to make it into a world-class institution.”
Industry Collaboration
Shri Vaishnaw expressed gratitude to industry partners for their commitment to IICT, noting their role in curriculum development, internships, scholarships, startup funding, and job placements.
“I thank all the industry partners and their top management for expressing their willingness to partner with us for this initiative. They will help us build this institution and sustain long-term growth,”
Key Attendees and Leadership
The ceremony saw the presence of industry leaders including Richard Kerris (VP & GM, Media & Entertainment, NVIDIA), Sanjog Gupta (CEO, Sports & Live Experiences, JioStar), Mala Sharma (VP & GM - Education, Adobe), Preeti Lobana (Country Head & VP, Google India), Rajiv Malik (Senior Director, WACOM), Sandeep Bandibekar (Head of Sales, State Govt. & Healthcare, Microsoft), Sandeep Bandivdekar (Director, Mainstream Services Partners, Microsoft), and Sunil Abraham (Director, Public Policy, Meta). IICT’s board and governing council members present included Ashish Kulkarni, Biren Ghosh, Manvendra Shukul, Munjal Shroff, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, and Subhash Sapru. The executive team of IICT comprises Dr. Vishwas Deoskar (CEO), Ninad Raikar (COO), and Shweta Verma (Lead Marketing).
Strategic Partnerships and Goals
The session featured the exchange of Letters of Intent (LoIs) between IICT representatives and industry leaders from JioStar, Adobe, Google, YouTube, and Meta, marking the launch of collaborative efforts to advance the AVGC-XR ecosystem. These alliances aim to enhance education, R&D, and innovation across animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, film, and extended reality, with the goal of replicating India’s successful IT model in the creative and digital media space.
Dignitaries Present
The event was also attended by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Shri Sanjay Jaju, and Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, Shri Dhirendra Ojha, who witnessed the exchange of agreements.
Stay tuned to GKboard.in for more updates from the WAVES Summit and developments in India’s media and entertainment sector!