₹250 cr push for content creator labs in 15K schools, 500 colleges

The Indian government will fund ₹250 crore for AVGC content creator labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges to boost the creative industry.

Updated on: Feb 2, 2026, 14:04:31 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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NEW DELHI: The Centre will support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, in establishing Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech on Sunday.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after the presentation of the Union Budget 2026-27 at the National Media Centre, in New Delhi. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The government will provide a support of ₹250 crore in setting up of these labs, she added.

Sitharaman said India’s AVGC is a growing industry projected to require two million professionals by 2030. “I propose to support the IICT Mumbai in setting up AVCG content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools all over the country and 500 colleges,” she said.

IICT is India’s first institution for creative technology on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management. In July 2025, the Maharashtra government started a satellite campus of IICT at National Film and Development Corporation (NFDC)’s Peddar Road premises in Mumbai, offering 18 industry-driven courses in the AVGC-XR sector, with the Centre’s help.

The Union ministry of information and broadcasting has allocated ₹250 crore under the new central sector scheme ‘Talent Development in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Sector.’

“The provision is to promote India and its youth as leaders in content creation by setting up AVGC content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges,” the ministry said in its notes on demands for grants for financial year 2026-2027.

Hailing the announcement in the budget, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “There is no dearth of quality in creativity and art in our country. The creator labs in schools will prove to be very effective in promoting creativity among students.”

Experts said industry linkage will be required for maintaining quality of the content creator labs.

Ramya Venkataraman, an educationist and CEO of global teacher competency platform Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA), said content creator labs for secondary students is an interesting idea in terms of aligning education priorities with employment priorities. “But ensuring the quality of these labs will require strong focus on both industry linkage and teacher quality. Industry partnership will be a prerequisite for lab funding and requiring certified teachers,” she said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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