Govt to form Centre of Excellence in gaming, related areas in collaboration with IIT Bombay

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with IIT Bombay has decided to form a Centre of Excellence in gaming and other related areas, said Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday.

Addressing at the virtual exhibition and prize announcement of "Khel Khel Mein", a Pan Maharashtra toy/game project design competition, Javadekar said that the Centre is at an advanced stage of preparation and will come into effect as the new session begins in 2021.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is passionate about preserving and perpetuating Indian values, heritage, and cultural ethos, and is putting in the immense effort so that the children and youth of our country are made aware of our rich culture and tradition. We can also introduce those values via modern technology and put it to optimum use," said the minister.

He highlighted that many games played on mobile and other gadgets are "violent, explicit, addictive, and tend to create a complex in the mind of children", adding that PUBG was just one example of it, but criticising those games is not the solution.

"The solution is to create our own games and apps in line with #MakeInIndia for the world so that these are adopted the world over for their basic values that are an integral part of our Indian ethos. This effort by the Modi government will fructify and lead the nation into creating new games that promote our Indian cultural ethos," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )