Parliament Question: Expansion of CMOT Programme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.4310 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 Expansion of CMOT Programme 4310: Shri Manish Jaiswal:

Dr. Hemang Joshi:

Shri Manoj Tiwari:

Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan:

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state: a) the details of the key components and objectives of the WAVES Bazaar global e- marketplace for the film and animation sectors; b) the manner in which the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) evolved in terms of inclusivity and international participation in its recent editions;

c) whether the Government has established strategic partnerships with global technology companies to support the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) and if so, the details thereof;

and d) the time by when the Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT) programme expanded its support to 100 young talents and details of the impact of this expansion? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS.

(DR. L. MURUGAN)

(a) to (d):

WAVES Bazaar is the flagship global B2B marketplace and engagement platform of the Government, conceived to promote India’s Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector across films, animation, VFX, gaming, AVGC-XR, immersive media, music, and digital content. Envisioned as a “Create in India, Create for the World” initiative, WAVES Bazaar enables structured business discovery, market access, investment facilitation, and international collaboration for Indian creators, studios, startups, and institutions.

The Government has established strategic partnerships with several global technology companies to support the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) - the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT). The collaborations aim to support the IICT through curriculum development, skill development programmes, internships, research and development support,startup incubation, scholarships and industry mentorship, thereby strengthening the AVGC-XR ecosystem in the country.

IFFI aims to be inclusive in terms of participation of countries, genres of films, styles of production, thematic concerns and audience appeal. Over the last 3 years, the number of countries from which films have been submitted to the festival has increased from 106 in 2023 to 127 in 2025. In the final line-up of films, international participation has increased from 79 countries in 2023 to 84 countries in 2025. Genres, styles and themes also have registered an impressive rise in IFFI's film bouquet. For wider inclusivity, the delegate fee is kept at low threshold of Rs. 1000/- for the entire length of the festival been held at 4 venues across Goa i.e. Panjim, Porvorim, Madgaon and Ponda. All screening venues of the festival have been made accessible for Divyangjan. In 56th IFFI, Indian Panorama section-19 films had Closed Captions and 24 films had Audio Descriptions.

The Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT) is an initiative launched in 2021 during the International Film Festival of India to identify, recognize, and nurture young creative talent in the field of filmmaking. The fifth edition of CMOT in 2025 brought together around 125 emerging creators across 13 film crafts. Since its inception in 2021, CMOT has grown steadily, with alumni screening at major global festivals, earning national recognition, and contributing significantly to India’s creative economy.

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