Govt plans Excellence Centre in Animation

To meet staff crunch

According to Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said the centre could come up in Pune as the Film and TV Institute of India is already there. The centre would be set up through public-private partnership.     

Earlier, the Working Group Report of 11th Five-Year Plan had suggested that the government should set up a Centre for Excellence in animation, gaming and special effects to address the problem of manpower shortage in such a high-tech content industry.     

With the Indian animation and gaming Industry expected to grow, the I&B ministry has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to prepare a report on the human resources requirement for this sector. The consultancy is drawing the blueprint of the requirement of skilled manpower by the industry and suggest necessary steps.    

Nasscom estimates the manpower shortage is the biggest roadblock in the sector: The animation industry employed around 16,500 professionals in 2006 and the number is expected to go up to 26,000, at a CAGR of 14-15 per cent.     

Although the forecast growth is impressive, it falls short of the potential growth that the industry can achieve. The gaming sector too is facing the same problem.     

At present, there are nearly 150 gaming firms, employing around 2,500 people. This number is estimated to rise to 13,000 by 2010 (at a CAGR of over 50 per cent).