Union Budget: FM Proposes 15,000 School Content Labs for AVGC Sector Boost

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced government support for India's "Orange Economy" in the Union Budget 2026–27, focusing on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC).
• The AVGC sector is projected to need nearly two million professionals by 2030, prompting structured interventions to build a robust talent pipeline.
• The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) will lead the establishment of AVGC Content Creator Labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges.
• These labs aim to nurture grassroots talent, equip students with creative and technical skills, and meet workforce needs while enabling India to export IP and creative services.
• IICT, modeled after IITs and IIMs, operates from NFDC campus in Mumbai, offering 17 specialized programs and partnering with global tech giants like Google, Meta, and NVIDIA.

Why It Matters: The Union Budget 2026–27 boosts India's AVGC sector by establishing 15,000 school labs and IICT-led skilling.