New taskforce to help build employment in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics

Want to become an animator, gamer or graphic novelist? It's going to be a mainstream sector soon, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while announcing the Union Budget 2022 at the Parliament on February 1.

The FM said that the government is keen on forming a taskforce to promote the AVCG sector as it offers employment opportunities for the youth. "The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics — AVGC — offers immense potential to employ the youth. An AVGC promotion taskforce with all stakeholders will be set up to recommend ways to realise this and build domestic capacity for serving our markets and meeting global demands," added the Finance Minister.

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Sitharaman said that India is now in a strong position to withstand challenges. "The Modi government has focused on the empowerment of citizens since 2014," said Sitharaman. "We are in the midst of the Omicron wave, the speed of our vaccination campaign has helped greatly. I am confident that ‘Sabka Prayaas’, we'll continue with strong growth," she added.

The FM said that the Aatmanirbhar Bharat approach has received an excellent response. "Budget 2022 has provided a sharp increase in provision for public investment and capital expenditure. This budget will provide the impetus for growth. We strive to provide the necessary ecosystem for the middle class," she added. The Finance Minister tabled the budget at 11 am on February 1. President Ram Nath Kovind kicked off the Budget Session of the Parliament on January 31, following which FM Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey.

Last year's budget was the first one to be presented amid the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive farmers' protest. Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet, to go digital from 2021. She was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red cover with a golden national emblem embossed on it. Announcing the Economic Survey last year, she had pegged the GDP growth at 11 per cent in the Financial Year 2021-22. But the Indian economy has come close to the projection. Advance estimates suggest that the Indian economy is expected to witness a real GDP expansion of 9.2 per cent in 2021-22, after contracting in 2020-21, said the latest Economic Survey.