ABAI, GoK to host summit on digital content

BANGALORE, INDIA: The Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI), in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka (GoK), will hold its Annual Business Summit on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) on 28 and 29 August in Bangalore.

Biren Ghose, president, ABAI and Country Head, Technicolor India, announced the event and added, "The 2013 edition of the ABAI Karnataka AVGC Summit is meant to provide new direction to in professionals and companies highlighting growth and opportunity areas. It will showcase our engagement with the academia, government and industry and highlight the policy execution we have enabled as well as the roadmap for the next year."

The AVGC sector forms a significant portion of the fast growing Digital Content industry. This segment in India was pegged at USD 685 million in 2011 by Deloitte and NASSCOM, growing at 18-20 per cent CAGR.

In recent years, the Government of Karnataka has been spearheading initiatives to develop the sector including the launch of the Karnataka AVGC Policy in 2012.Entrepreneurs in the sector cross significant hurdles in tackling the global collaborative nature of the business as well as the high skill and technology requirements, which the Policy aims to address over the coming years.

According to ISN Prasad, principal secretary to Government Department of IT,BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka ISN Prasad, Principal Secretary IT BT and S&T said: "Karnataka will continue to lead the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) growth in India. We have partnered with a cross section of the digital content industries through ABAI. This summit showcases the support and resources we have sponsored through multiple initiatives to develop the eco system using technology and this includes tier 2 towns."

"In our vision, Karnataka will be the prime provider of high-level skill sets taking this industry to the next level. this summit we will continue to seek consensus and thought leadership and help ABAI achieve its mandate to implement India's 1st AVGC policy," he added.

The event will have a global footprint. Prominent business and trade speakers from UK, Malaysia, Canada and also business leaders from India are scheduled to speak and interact with the audience.

Along with keynote speeches and expert panels, the Summit will host Clinics where managers and entrepreneurs can get expert guidance on legal, business, creative and technical matters.

Jai Natarajan, executive committee member ABAI and CEO, Xentrix Studios Bangalore, said "Each year, the Summit has provided the right forum for the sector to discuss and develop the complex and highly collaborative business of AVGC. We are keen to create the hub for this in Karnataka while supporting holistic development of the entire sector in India for the industry to reach its true potential."