Union Budget 2026: Industry Comments & Reactions on AVGC sector and AI

Manish Agarwal, Board Member, GDAI (Game Developer Association of India):
“The announcement of AVGC content creator labs in schools and colleges is a landmark step toward building India’s next generation of game designers and developers. Over the past few years, GDAI has been closely engaging with government stakeholders to help shape a long-term talent pipeline that starts at the school level and extends through higher education and industry readiness. We strongly welcome this move, which will significantly accelerate the growth of gaming, AVGC-XR, and interactive media careers across the country.”

Nitish Mittersain, Jt. MD & CEO, Nazara Technologies:
"“The Budget’s focus on AVGC is a very positive step for India’s creative and gaming ecosystem. Initiatives like setting up AVGC labs across schools and colleges and investing in large-scale skilling will help build strong grassroots talent and long-term industry capacity. This is not just about employment — it’s about creating original Indian IP, strengthening our creative economy, and positioning Bharat as a global hub for gaming and interactive entertainment. With consistent execution, this can become a real catalyst for the next phase of industry growth.”

Anuj Tandon, Partner - India & UAE, BITKRAFT Ventures:
“The Union Budget 2026’s alignment of AVGC with XR sends a strong signal to global investors that India is serious about building the future of interactive media. By supporting this ecosystem through policy clarity, skilling and infrastructure, the government is going for the long term view in creating grassroot skills for the sector that will make India a stand out market”

Anurag Choudhary, Founder & CEO, Felicity Games:
“The government’s push on AVGC and creative tech education is a strong step forward. Gaming and interactive media are talent-led industries, and building this pipeline early can help India move from being a large consumer market to becoming a global producer of content and IP, driving jobs and long-term economic growth. Over time, this can translate into meaningful jobs, startups, and export-driven growth for the economy.”

Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder & CEO, Metasports (Game Developers of Hitwicket, the popular and global cricket game):
"Gaming sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, and analytics. While India has a proven pipeline of world class Tech and Analytics talent, the final piece of Creative talent is now getting nurtured. The Union Budget 2026-27's support for AVGC sector is a strong step toward aligning India’s education system with the realities of a rapidly changing economy. By expanding access to future-ready disciplines, this move can significantly strengthen our talent pipeline and help India stay globally competitive."

Jeet Chandan, Co-Founder, Shortgun Games (Game Developers and leading AVGC studio):
"This Budget is a direct policy push for India’s AVGC revolution AVGC Creator Labs across 15,000 schools and 500 colleges is a game-changing talent pipeline. For Shortgun Games, this means faster scaling of XR-led game design and global IP creation. India isn’t just playing games now India is building the world’s gaming content factory."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specific to the Hon'ble Finance Minister's announcement on enhancing India's AI growth and adoption, and the launch of Bharat Vistaar, multi-lingual AI tool soon, here is a comment from an industry leader who has been dedicatedly building towards conversational Voice AI for large enterprises and digital infrastructure globally while based and founded in India. Ello.ai is a startup launched recently by [X] Cube Labs, a global digital transformation leader with years of enterprise expertise. For over 16 years, and 1000 employees, [X] Cube Labs, based in Hyderabad, India, has built critical digital infrastructure for global giants like General Electric, Honeywell, and Sony, and has delivered over 700 digital solutions and created an estimated $2 billion+ in  value for their clients.

Sridhar Muppidi, Co-Founder Ello.ai and [X] Cube Labs:
"We welcome the government’s move to set up a high-powered education-to-employment committee, especially its focus on the impact of AI on the services sector. Over the next 2–3 years, the services industry will see a fundamental shift, with individual productivity increasing 20–25x as AI becomes deeply embedded in daily work. The way people interact with software and services will change completely—moving from screens and forms to natural voice-led interactions. Combined with India’s strong investments in linguistic AI, this creates a unique opportunity to make technology accessible, inclusive, and scalable across the country. Aligning education and skills with these real-world deployments will be critical to ensuring this transformation drives growth rather than disruption".