Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 3 (ANI): In a major leap towards empowering India's AVGC-XR ecosystem, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with FICCI and CII, has unveiled the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT)--a National Centre of Excellence dedicated exclusively to the AVGC-XR sector.

According to an official statement, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, ceremonially flagged off these strategic associations and emphasised India's potential to become a global leader in media and entertainment.

He said that IICT is on track to evolve into a premier institution in its field, much like how IITs and IIMs have become benchmarks in technology and management education.

The announcement that was made at the inauguration of WAVES 2025 was formalised on Saturday by the Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, during the ongoing WAVES Summit in Mumbai.

The Union Minister informed that IICT will follow the same template as the IITs and IIMs in India to transform itself into a massive world-class education and training hub for students who aspire to be professionals in the AVGC-XR sector.

'We have started an initiative which is completely novel in the world of film and entertainment. This (initiative) follows the vision of our Prime Minister that India can take the global lead in the world in the media and entertainment sector,' said the Minister.

The Minister heartily thanked the industry partners who have expressed their willingness to collaborate, as he announced that leading global companies have agreed to partner with IICT to provide support in curriculum development, internships, scholarships, startup funding, and job placements.

'I thank all the industry partners and their top management with whom I have spoken, for expressing their willingness to partner with us for this initiative. They will help us build this institution and help us sustain long-term growth. 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,' the minister added.

Some companies who have extended their hands for a long-term collaborations are JioStar, Adobe, Google and YouTube, Meta, Wacom, Microsoft and NVIDIA.

During the session, representatives from IICT and leading industry partners came together to exchange Letters of Intent (LoIs), marking the launch of long-term collaborative efforts aimed at advancing the AVGC-XR ecosystem in India. The signings involved prominent global industry leaders including Jiostar, Adobe, Google, YouTube, and Meta.

These alliances are designed to boost education, R&D, and innovation across animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, film, and extended reality. The goal is to replicate India's successful IT model within the creative and digital media space, developing a sustainable ecosystem for future growth.

The industry leaders who were present in this ceremony included Richard Kerris, (VP & GM, Media & Entertainment, Nvidia), Sanjog Gupta (CEO, Sports & Live Experiences, Jio Star), Mala Sharma (VP & GM - Education, Adobe), Preeti Lobana (Country Head & VP, Google India) and others.

Board members and governing council members of IICT who were present today were Ashish Kulkarni, Biren Ghosh, Manvendra Shukul, Munjal Shroff, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, and Subhash Sapru. The Executive Team of IICT includes Dr Vishwas Deoskar, IICT CEO, Ninad Raikar, IICT COO, and Shweta Verma, Lead Marketing IICT

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr L Murugan; Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Sanjay Jaju; and Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, Dhirendra Ojha were also present at the exchange of agreements. (ANI)