Great interest in global companies working with IICT: Ashwini Vaishnaw at Waves Event

Alliance Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Saturday that global companies are eager to work with the newly announced Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) to harness the creativity of youth in the country. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting made these remarks after seven leading companies, Google, Adubo, Meta, Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft. The letter of intent was exchanged in the presence of Congress Information and Broadcasting L Murugan and Secretary of State Vaishnaw of I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju.
Vaishnaw said the institute will become a national hub in the fields of animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality (AVGC-XR).
“Seven companies already – NVIDIA, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Star India and Adobe – are working with IICT. IICT will work closely with the industry to make our young creators ready in the future,” he said.

Vaishnaw informed reporters that discussions with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are also working with IICT. On Friday, he met with WIPO Director-General Daren Tang.

Established by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, IICT is a national center of excellence for the strategic cooperation of prestigious IIT and IIM with trade agency FICCI and industry Body CII. “India has the potential to play a global leadership role in the media and entertainment sectors. The institute is the first step in this direction and we must build on it,” Vaishnaw said. The minister said there is a great willingness to cooperate with IICT.

He noted that India is home to 40 million creators, according to industry estimates, he said: “This group of vibrant creators are involved in the challenge of ‘creating in India’. More than 100,000 creators from 60 countries participated in the wave of the first edition.”

Vaishnaw points out that the world of creativity is undergoing a profound transformation, with technology democratizing the industry. “The way content is created is changing, and the medium of consuming content is changing.”

He said Waves aims to provide a platform for creators from around the world. “It will provide access to new technologies. The wave will connect with investors, producers and buyers. This will create new economic opportunities.”

The first phase of IICT is located in the NFDC building on Pedder Road, Mumbai, with state-of-the-art facilities including a gaming lab, animation lab, editing and sound suite, virtual production setup, immersive studio, preview theater, preview theater and multiple smart classrooms.

Vaishnaw also said that the third phase of IICT will further expand the institute’s capacity and coverage on the 10-acre campus of Goregaon’s Film City.