Maharashtra mulling industry status for animation, gaming

With the animation and gaming sectors rapidly-burgeoning, the Maharashtra Government has proposed granting industry status and extending benefits to them, akin to those available to IT units in the state, a senior State Government official said.

With the animation and gaming sectors rapidly-burgeoning, the Maharashtra Government has proposed granting industry status and extending benefits to them, akin to those available to IT units in the state, a senior State Government official said.

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Besides the above two sectors, the Government will also extend the same benefits to two more related segments-- visual effects and comics, he said.

"There is a huge potential in the animation, visual-effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) space which is growing by leaps and bounds every year. We want to prepare a specific policy to promote these sectors as a separate industry," the State's Development Commissioner (Industries), Sanjay Sethi, told PTI here.

A task force comprising the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), NASSCOM and experts from the field was working on the policy.

"We have recommended that the State should encourage development of AVGC parks by providing incentives like additional FSI, tax benefits and making available electricity at cheaper rates, among others," MCCIA's Joint Chairman, Ashish Kulkarni, said.

MCCIA has also recommended that entertainment tax not be levied on AVGC units at least for the next five-years.

The Government should also make a provision for a promotional fund in its budget for the next three-years, he said.