Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, 4 July 2026, inaugurated 'India Rising: Road to Esports World Cup 2026' at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, marking what he described as a historic milestone in India's digital creative economy. The event, organised in partnership with esports platform JioBLAST, opens a national qualifier pathway for Indian gamers to compete at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.

Context

Speaking at the inauguration, CM Fadnavis said, 'India Rising' and 'JioBLAST' are opening India's doors to the 'Olympics of gaming' — the Esports World Cup 2026 to be held in Paris. 'Every talented young gamer in Maharashtra and across the country now has the opportunity to make their mark on the global stage,' he said, calling the initiative a historic step in India's digital creative economy. He added that while films show us the world of dreams, 'gaming gives us the chance to actually experience those dreams and become the hero of that world ourselves.'

Policy backdrop

Maharashtra is the first state in India to announce a comprehensive AVGC-XR policy — covering animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, and extended reality. The policy carries a budgetary provision of ₹3,268 crore, targets attracting ₹50,000 crore in investment, and aims to generate 2 lakh jobs. The sector has been accorded the status of an industry and infrastructure sector, and 12 AVGC parks are being developed across the state.

Advanced virtual production and AI-based rendering facilities are planned for Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. A world-class content creators' complex spanning 50 acres is to come up near the Navi Mumbai International Airport. CM Fadnavis also noted that the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies is being established in Mumbai under an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he said will shape the country's creative and orange economy and build globally competitive talent.

This state-level push builds on the national foundation laid by the Digital India programme launched in 2015, which enabled affordable data and digital skills infrastructure, and a 2022 national AVGC task force constituted by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to scale India's creative content industries.

Stakeholders and impact

CM Fadnavis cited figures underlining the sector's scale: India has more than 50 crore active gamers, and the domestic gaming industry has grown to approximately ₹40,000 crore. Globally, he noted, the gaming industry's annual revenue now exceeds the combined revenue of the film and music industries. 'Gaming is no longer just entertainment — it is becoming a powerful pillar of employment, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the digital economy,' he said.

Affordable data, high-speed internet, the UPI payments ecosystem, and advances in artificial intelligence, virtual production, and immersive technology are driving rapid growth in India's AVGC-XR sector. The primary beneficiaries are youth gamers, esports athletes, AVGC professionals, and creative startups across Maharashtra and the country.

What's next

CM Fadnavis expressed confidence that 'India Rising' will be recorded as the most comprehensive and impactful esports campaign in India's history. The immediate focus will be on running qualifiers through the India Rising and JioBLAST platforms, with top performers advancing toward the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris. Longer term, the rollout of 12 AVGC parks, the Navi Mumbai content complex, and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies will be watched as indicators of whether Maharashtra can translate policy ambition into a durable global leadership position in digital creative industries.