Nasscom says animation is a biggie

Stating that this sector is all set to register an exponential growth in the coming years, Kiran Karnik, president of Nasscom has said that the total animation production by India is expected to grow from $0.6 billion in 2001 to $1.5 billion by 2005.

This compares with the size of the world animation industry, which has grown from a $25 billion in 2001 and expected to be between $50-$70 billion by 2005.

In his address at a conference to bridge the gap between entertainment and IT, Karnik said, "Going by the nature of work that is coming to India, there is a huge potential to realise our estimates by 2005. However, unlike in Hollywood which took nearly 25 years to utilise the benefits of the Silicon Valley, it is important that our entertainment industry goes hand-in-hand with the IT advantage that India already has in store."

As a run up to Frames 2004, a global convention that would be held to focus on the "business of entertainment", e-Entertainment Alliance is conducting various conferences across the country to bring together the world of IT and entertainment. e-Entertainment is an joint alliance between Nasscom, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and FICCI.

In order to fructify its efforts to successfully combine IT and entertainment, Nasscom has reiterated the importance of proper training.

"Lack of adequate training in animation is a key concern. One has to remember that the IT success story was also mainly due to the high standards of education and training that exists in the country. Currently, there are nearly 10,000 people in the Indian animation industry. Going by the current trend, there is an immediate requirement for at least another 50,000 animators," Karnik added.

Nasscom feels that India must focus on ownership of IPR and not fall for the trap of a smaller return on investments.

"Co production agreements will clearly open up the market. Besides improving on inadequate skill sets, it is also important that have an expertise on scripts and story boards," Karnik stated.