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Budget announcement in New Delhi

New Delhi. The Union Budget 2026 focuses on India’s growing creator and digital media economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a plan to set up Content Creator Labs in educational institutions. The initiative aims to connect education with the emerging creative and digital industries and prepare students for the future.

Which areas will be covered?

Under the budget, the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai will be provided assistance in setting up AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges. The initiative is aimed at empowering India’s ‘Orange Economy’, which includes creative industries such as media, entertainment and digital storytelling.

Budget to promote storytelling

The Finance Minister said that the objective of this budget is to promote creativity, storytelling and advanced media skills in the initial phase. Along with this, it also includes creating skilled workforce for rapidly growing fields like animation, gaming and visual effects. Investment in the National Film Development Corporation and National Center of Excellence for AVGC-XR has been doubled to Rs 35 crore in the budget. Additionally, Rs 250 crore has been allocated for AVGC talent development.

Important announcements of Nirmala Sitharaman

In her budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said that India’s AVGC sector is a growing industry, which will require 2 million professionals by 2030. These announcements are an important step towards establishing India as a global hub for high-value digital content.

Indian cinema also got help

The budget documents also show an allocation of Rs 344.55 crore for promotion and preservation of Indian cinema through film festivals, production of new films and documentaries. Along with this, Rs 344.55 crore has also been allocated to provide Indian cinema a national and international platform to showcase its work.