Digital Art
West Bengal Allocates INR 50 Crore for AVGC-XR Skill Training
West Bengal has proposed an INR 50 Cr allocation to train 100K students annually in AVGC-XR, establish 500 Content Creator Labs, and revamp the WEBEL Academy.
Highlights
- West Bengal has proposed an INR 50 Cr allocation to train approximately 100K students annually in the AVGC-XR sector.
- 500 Content Creator Labs are proposed to be established in the current year, alongside a revamp of the WEBEL Animation Academy.
- The announcement makes West Bengal one of several Indian states moving to build AVGC infrastructure in India.
The West Bengal state government has proposed an allocation of INR 50 Cr toward training around 100K students and youth in animation, visual effects, gaming, and extended reality every year. Alongside that funding, 500 Content Creator Labs are proposed to be established in 2026. The West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited (WEBEL) Animation Academy will be revamped with new courses in 3D Animation and visual effects (VFX).
The announcement frames the initiative as creating "necessary ecosystem for skill upgradation of youth in emerging areas." It is a meaningful step for a state that has largely sat on the sidelines of India's AVGC conversation despite having Kolkata, a city with a long history in creative industries.
Where West Bengal Fits in the National AVGC-XR Picture
West Bengal is not the first state to move on AVGC-XR. Karnataka has operated an AVGC policy since 2017, backed by a Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and an INR 50 Cr venture capital fund for entrepreneurs in the sector.
Telangana's IMAGE policy, also dating to 2016, positioned Hyderabad as an outsourcing and production hub and now hosts major international studios, including EA and Rockstar Games. Maharashtra has gone furthest financially, approving an AVGC-XR policy targeting INR 50,000 Cr in investment and 200K jobs by 2050 with an initial allocation of INR 3,268 Cr.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala have their own frameworks in development, and even Nagaland has constituted a dedicated AVGC-XR task force with a focus on esports and grassroots talent. Against that backdrop, West Bengal's INR 50 Cr proposal is modest in.
Maharashtra is spending over sixty times that amount in its opening allocation alone. However, West Bengal is building from a different starting point. WEBEL, the state's electronics and technology development arm, has existing infrastructure and institutional relationships that a purely new initiative would need years to build.
Anchoring the AVGC push to an existing body rather than creating a parallel structure from scratch is either a smart use of available resources or a potential bottleneck, depending on how effectively WEBEL adapts to a creative-tech mandate it has not historically held.
Author
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
Related Articles
