Union Budget 2026 Validates GDAI’s AVGC Skilling Playbook; Industry Body Forecasts $10 Billion Gaming Exports by 2035

Mumbai. February 1, 2026.  Game Developer Association of India (GDAI), the apex industry body for game development, has welcomed the Union Budget 2026–27’s focused push on skilling for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC), describing it as a strong validation of industry-led recommendations to build India’s next-generation interactive media workforce.

A key highlight of the Budget is the government’s support to the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, to establish AVGC Content Creator Labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges nationwide. The initiative is aimed at early-stage skill development and creating a structured pipeline of future-ready creators, developers and creative technologists, while mainstreaming game development and interactive media as viable career pathways.

The Budget has also earmarked ₹250 crore for AVGC talent development in FY 2026–27, reinforcing the sector’s growing role as a high-value employment and export-oriented component of India’s services economy. GDAI noted that the skilling focus closely aligns with its pre-budget submissions and ongoing engagement with the Government, which emphasised integrating interactive media and game development into national education and skilling frameworks rather than treating them as niche disciplines.

With coordinated policy support and industry integration, GDAI estimates that India’s gaming ecosystem can enable over 200,000 trained game developers, support the creation of more than 1,500 studios, and generate $10 billion in annual gaming exports by 2035. The association has also highlighted the importance of early exposure to creative and technical skills to meet the projected demand for over 2 million AVGC professionals by the end of the decade.

Commenting on the announcement, Manish Agarwal, Board Member, GDAI, said, “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.”