MUMBAI: On the lines of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the central government has decided to develop the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT)—a National Centre of Excellence dedicated exclusively to the AVGC-XR sector in Mumbai.
As part of this initiative, global tech giants like NVIDIA, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Star India, Meta, and Adobe are long-term partners in transforming IICT into a world-class institution. On the third day of the Wave Summit, Microsoft, Google, and Meta signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the presence of I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Jio World Centre on Saturday.
These partnerships aim to enhance education, research, and innovation in animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, film, and extended reality. The goal is to replicate India’s successful IT model in the creative and digital media sectors, developing a sustainable ecosystem for long-term growth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allocated Rs 400 crore for setting up IICT, while the land for the project has been provided by the Maharashtra government. Ten acres of land at Mumbai Film City have been identified and will be used for IICT development.
However, the Phase1 campus, located at the NFDC Building, Pedder Road, Mumbai, is already equipped with state-of-the-art Gaming Labs, Animation Labs, Edit and Sound Suites, Virtual Production setups, Immersive Studios, Preview Theatres, and smart classrooms. IICT will initially offer seven specialised courses, along with train-the-trainer programs, setting new benchmarks for academic and practical excellence.
“This is major leap towards empowering India’s AVGC-XR ecosystem,” said I&B minister emphasising India has potential to become a global leader in media and entertainment, and IICT is on track to evolve into a premier institution in its field, much like how IITs and IIMs have become benchmarks in technology and management education.
The Union Minister said that IICT will follow the same template as the IITs and IIMs in India to transform itself into a massive world-class education and training hub for students who aspire to be professionals in the AVGC-XR sector.
“We have started an initiative which is completely novel in the world of film and entertainment. This (initiative) follows the vision of our Prime Minister that India can take the global lead in the world in the media and entertainment sector,” said the I&B Minister.
“I thank all the industry partners and their top management with whom I have spoken to, for expressing their willingness to partner with us for this initiative. They will help us build this institution and help us sustain long-term growth. I hope the IICT grows into a large educational infrastructure for the (AVGC-XR) sector," the minister added.
The Board members and governing council members of IICT were also present, including Ashish Kulkarni, Biren Ghosh, Manvendra Shukul, Munjal Shroff, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, and Subhash Sapru. The Executive Team of IICT includes Dr. Vishwas Deoskar, CEO; Ninad Raikar, COO; and Shweta Verma, Lead Marketing.
During the session, representatives from IICT and leading industry partners came together to exchange Letters of Intent (LoIs), marking the launch of long-term collaborative efforts aimed at advancing the AVGC-XR ecosystem in India.
IICT will have state-of-the-art facilities ranging from virtual production setups, immersive studios, animation labs, gaming labs, edit and sound suites, to multiple smart classrooms. The second phase of the project will be developed over a 10-acre campus inside Film City in Goregaon. Seeking to boost the reach of the institute as well as decentralise access for students, the government has also drawn plans to develop regional centres across India in a later phase of the project.
The IICT will focus on training incubation, innovation, research and development as well as policy development, aimed at creating innumerable opportunities for budding creators and entrepreneurs.