Over 10,000 ‘creators’ have applied for the government’s ‘Create in India Challenge’ (CIC). According to the I&B ministry, the initiative is a precursor to the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES), set to take place in Goa from November 20.
The initiative is aimed at empowering content creators and innovators to showcase their talents, monetise their skills and contribute to the growth of the Indian media and entertainment industry. “It enhances India's soft power, globally, and serves as a launchpad for India's emerging creative talent, propelling them towards global recognition,” according to an official statement released on Monday evening.
Launched in end-August, content creators can apply online for the challenge across various categories including Truth Tell Hackathon, Comics Creator Championship, Esports Tournament, Trailer Making Competition, Theme Music Competition, XR Creator Hackathon, A.I. Avatar Creator Challenge, Anime Challenge and others. The challenges are spread across various sectors of the media and entertainment industry from television broadcasting to advertising to music, special effects, digital media, social media, films as well as emerging technologies.
To promote CIC, roadshows were held in places like Hyderabad where gamers gathered, while the VEGAS fest in Chennai focused on the importance of animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC sector) and was organised by FICCI.
The Bangalore roadshow on October 5, co-hosted by the Media & Entertainment Associations of India (MEAI) and the ABAI AVGC Centre of Excellence (CoE), facilitated valuable interactions among 40-50 industry leaders and associations. I&B ministry says it is collaborating with further events to promote CIC as well as WAVES to maximise the participation of India’s creative industries.
Government is also planning 28 roadshows in foreign countries like the US, Korea etc to popularise the upcoming WAVES.