“Just like the textile and industrial revolution in the past, the time is now ripe for a creative revolution. It is time for the rise of the creative class.” With these words, the emcee announced the NASSCOM Animation and Gaming Summit, 2007 open.
Mr. Kiran Karnik, President of NASSCOM, began by welcoming all the delegates, “For the 1st time the event is being held in Mumbai. Until now, the summit was held each time in Hyderabad. I have been actively involved in this area for the last 5 years. Worldwide the market for Animation and Gaming has been booming, but India has only scratched the surface so far. In fact, we are almost non-existent in the world-wide Gaming industry. The domestic market is no doubt large and growing in both these sectors, but worldwide it has been huge for a long time now.
IT is India’s no.1 export. In animation we are doing some great work in terms of quality and people are beginning to take notice. All this is encouraging but there also exist a few issues that are cause for worry. A critical matter that needs our attention is – how do we develop better human resources? Our skills are not developed on a large scale. There exist a select few people doing excellent work but it is not enough. Much more needs to be done in terms of education and honing our talent.
Private initiatives are being made but the need of the hour is a greater number of public-private partnership ventures. We hope to drive this further at the NASSCOM summit. The Central and State governments too must support and aid this. A concrete roadmap and plan has to be developed. World class human resources must be built.
There is another point of concern. The Indian animation industry needs a strong, inclusive voice that will enable it to get attention, especially when talking to the government. We all compete, yes, but the focus must be on growth. I see too much fragmentation. Too many groups. Lessons must be learned from the success of the IT industry in India. I am not saying we follow in its footsteps but we can certainly gain from its experience. Each IT company is successfully doing its work, yet together they form a cohesive group. Look around you. There are other entrepreneurs like you in the audience with similar dreams and objectives. Perhaps you could forge a partnership in your future project with someone who you exchanged cards with at this summit. Greater co-operation and collaboration will be the key to our future successes. NASSCOM is committed to the betterment of this industry. We will provide all possible support to the creative people.”
He concluded by thanking all the sponsors and supporters of the event, especially Mr. Biren Ghose, CEO of Kahani Inc.