New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- India's animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) ecosystem is set for a significant boost after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a Rs.250-crore allocation to expand formal talent development across schools and colleges, signalling a push to institutionalize the country's fast-growing creator economy.

As part of the Union Budget presented on Sunday, the government will support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, in setting up AVGC content creator labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges nationwide. The initiative aims to build early, structured exposure to animation, visual storytelling and digital content creation.

Industry experts say culturally rooted f...