SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Information & Broadcasting | Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC)
The Government of India, through its startup accelerator WaveX under the WAVES initiative, has announced the launch of seven new incubation centres aimed at supporting startups in the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics) and XR (Extended Reality) sectors. The new centres will be located at IIMC Delhi, IIMC Jammu, IIMC Dhenkanal, IIMC Kottayam, IIMC Amravati, FTII Pune, and SRFTI Kolkata.
These incubators will offer high-end infrastructure and support facilitiesβsuch as studios, green rooms, editing suites, VR/AR testing labs, high-speed computing, and sandboxing environments. Startups will also receive mentorship, industry connect, funding support, and access to government media agencies such as Doordarshan, AIR, FTII, SRFTI, etc.
WaveX currently operates an existing incubator at IICT Mumbai, equipped with cutting-edge production tools (8K cameras, Dolby Atmos theatre, LED virtual production walls, etc.). The expansion aims to replicate those capabilities across geographies while enabling remote/digital access.
This expansion signals a push to foster creative-tech entrepreneurship, strengthen the digital media and content ecosystem, and build Indiaβs competitive edge in sectors aligned with global media and immersive-tech trends. It hopes to align cultural production, innovation policy, and technology policy, offering market access through government media agencies and enhancing synergies with incubators at film & media institutions.
By spreading capacity beyond Mumbai to regions like Jammu, Odisha, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, the model also supports regional equity in innovation infrastructure. For Ministries and institutions, this move requires coordination on talent development, intellectual property support, funding, and industry linkages to ensure these hubs succeed beyond infrastructure.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders
How can India ensure that these new AVGC-XR incubators translate into globally competitive content start-ups, attract private investment, and sustain demand beyond government support?
Follow the full news here: WaveX Launches Seven New Incubation Centres for AVGC & XR Startups