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Betting big on animation: (from left) Mr Biren Ghose, Chairman of Nasscom’s Animation and Gaming Forum, Mr Som Mittal, President of Nasscom, and Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, at the ‘Animation and Gaming India 2008’ conference in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Nov. 6 Don’t talk of gloom and doom, Mr Som Mittal, President of Nasscom, asks all those who refers to the slowdown and its impact on the Indian IT, ITES, animation and gaming industries.

Releasing the Nasscom Animation and Gaming Report 2008 here on Thursday, he said the fundamentals of the Indian economy were very strong and that there was no need to get panicky.

Referring to the highlights of the report, he pegged the animation industry at $1.16 billion by 2012 as against an estimated $460 million in 2008. The industry would grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 27 per cent in the next four years.

During the same time, the fledgling gaming industry would grow to $1 billion from $212 million, growing at a CAGR of 50 per cent.

He said the industry needed Government support in the form of reduced taxes and providing infrastructure.

Mr Mittal, who was here in connection with the Nasscom Animation and Gaming India 2008, said the number of H1 visas India received were just 14 per cent of all the visas given by the US. Making light of the reports that the slowdown would spell doom for the Indian industry, he said the country contributed just three per cent of the IT business market globally.

Mr Mittal and other speakers, including Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman of Nasscom and Global Chief Executive Officer of Zensar, bet on the evolving opportunities in the domestic market itself.

Though started with mythological themes such as Hanuman and Ramayan, the animation industry had come of age with contemporary themes like Roadside Romeo and Toonpur Ka Superhero was gaining currency.

“Last year itself, we saw announcement of 85 domestic animation movies. Work on 28 of these are in different stages of production,” the Nasscom report, which was jointly produced by Ernst & Young, said.

The report pointed out that the industry faced with lack of original content. “The domestic demand for animation is restricted to select animation movies and advertising. Lack of quality resources, high attrition rates and absence of sufficient bandwidth are some of the issues that need to be addressed,” it said.

Earlier addressing the inaugural of the conference, Dr Ganesh said Mr Obama’s victory would not mean death for outsourcing business. His election, in fact, would result in huge opportunities for India as a strong US would have a cascading impact.

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