Mumbai: In a landmark move to elevate India’s standing in creative technologies, the Centre has announced the formation of the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) in Mumbai—modelled on the lines of IITs and IIMs.

The institute will function as a National Centre of Excellence exclusively for the AVGC-XR sector, covering Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality.

Major global players—NVIDIA, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Adobe, and Star India—have committed to long-term collaboration with the institute, with MoUs already signed between Microsoft, Google, and Meta and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The agreement was formalised on Saturday at the Jio World Centre during the third day of the WAVE Summit in the presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The partnerships aim to foster high-quality education, innovation, and R&D in digital creative fields, with a long-term vision to replicate India’s successful IT model within the media and entertainment industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sanctioned ₹400 crore for the institute’s creation, while the Maharashtra government has allocated 10 acres in Film City, Goregaon for its permanent campus.

Until that is ready, operations will begin from a state-run facility at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

“This is a major leap towards empowering India’s AVGC-XR ecosystem,” said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, underlining that India has the capacity to become a global leader in the sector.

He stressed that IICT would follow the IIT-IIM framework to become a benchmark institution in the field of creative and digital media.

“We’ve initiated something truly novel in the global film and entertainment space, aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision that India can take the global lead in media and entertainment,” he said, also expressing gratitude to industry leaders for their commitment to shaping the institution.

Among those present at the announcement were members of the IICT Board and Governing Council—Ashish Kulkarni, Biren Ghosh, Manvendra Shukul, Munjal Shroff, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, and Subhash Sapru.

The core executive team comprises Dr. Vishwas Deoskar as CEO, Ninad Raikar as COO, and Shweta Verma as Marketing Lead.

During the event, IICT and industry stakeholders exchanged Letters of Intent, formally kicking off collaborative initiatives to drive India’s AVGC-XR ecosystem forward.

IICT’s campus will feature cutting-edge infrastructure including virtual production environments, immersive studios, gaming and animation labs, editing suites, and smart classrooms.

A second development phase will expand the campus over the 10-acre Film City plot. Plans are also underway to establish regional centres across the country in subsequent phases to ensure wider access.

The institute will focus on education, innovation, incubation, research and policy-making—paving the way for professionals, entrepreneurs, and creators to thrive in the emerging creative tech space.