Govt to set up Maharashtra Emerging Technology Fund: Minister

Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) The state government has decided to set up a Maharashtra Emerging Technology Fund of Rs 300 crore to promote innovation, employment and revenue generation, exports and intellectual property creation for gaming and other emerging technology sectors in the state.

The state has initiated the process of formulating a dedicated Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics-Extended Reality ( AVGC-XR) policy, said Industries Minister Uday Samant on Wednesday in the state assembly.

He was replying to a debate on the calling attention motion moved by member Shrikant Bhartiya.

Minister Samant said to support innovation through investment in the state and to give importance to the industry sectors of animation, visual effects, gaming and comics, the Information Technology and Information Technology Supported Services Policy-2023 has been announced. Through this policy, provisions have been made to provide incentives to global companies, professionals and students to come to the state to develop Maharashtra as the AVGC hub of the country.

“The policy provides for additional incentives for innovators, investors, developers and design studios. At the same time, the policy intends to allow special incentives for the innovation component of all games, excluding gambling-based games. In addition, the policy also proposes to allow separate incentives for studios producing regional Marathi content,” said Minister Samant.

Minister Samant said that special incentives have been provided for the development of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, 3D Printing, Internet of Things, Robotics, Nano Technology, Big Data, Quantum Computing, etc. These incentives include stamp duty waiver, electricity tariff concession, capital subsidy, electricity tariff subsidy, energy rationalisation assistance, certification assistance, market development assistance, patent-related assistance, skill development assistance and recruitment assistance, he added.

Also, under this policy, special emphasis has been given to the development of data centres, and various financial and non-financial incentives have been allowed to data centre developers. Action is being taken at various levels for the development of animation, visual effects, gaming and comics as well as emerging technology sectors. MoUs worth Rs 8,000 crore have been signed in the media and entertainment sector at the Audiovisual Conference-2025 (WAVES 2025), he said.

“Mumbai and Pune in particular are major hubs of information technology, media and entertainment, and the state's strengths include availability of skilled manpower, active innovation ecosystem, presence of investors, high-speed internet and state-of-the-art technology facilities. Due to this, there are ample opportunities available in these cities to set up industries in the gaming sector. The gaming industry is expanding rapidly globally, and India has huge opportunities in the gaming industry,” said Minister Samant.

--IANS

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