Netflix Co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to discuss the growing global influence of Indian storytelling, reaffirm the company’s long-term commitment to India’s creative economy, and announce the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative.
The initiative is a multi-phase investment in India’s creative talent pipeline and will involve partnerships with Indian institutions to help build the next generation of Indian storytelling talent, according to a Netflix statement.
“The initiative will help equip the next generation of storytellers with industry-relevant skills across the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) ecosystem, which serves as a key driver of India’s ‘Orange Economy’,” the statement said.
The first phase of the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative focuses on youth skilling and includes two strategic partnerships with Indian institutions.
Under the first partnership, Netflix will work with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) to co-develop an industry-ready curriculum in visual effects mastery and media technology workflows.
The streaming platform will also offer 100 scholarships to Indian students for in-person programmes at IICT, including courses in interactive comics and sequential art, virtual art department content creation, the art of character animation, esports and gaming management, and other emerging creative disciplines.
The second partnership is with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to help build a talent pipeline for new jobs created under the Prime Minister’s accessibility agenda, the statement said.
The programme will include training for audio description writers and voice artists to make films and series more accessible to audiences with visual and hearing impairments.
“India has always been one of the world’s greatest storytelling nations. Over the past decade, we’ve had the privilege of seeing Indian stories connect with audiences not just across India, but around the world,” Sarandos said in the statement.
“As we begin our next decade here, we believe our greatest investment is in the people who will tell India’s next generation of stories. The Netflix India Storytelling Initiative reflects our long-term commitment to strengthening India’s creative ecosystem by creating more opportunities for emerging creators, because investing in creators is investing in India’s creative future,” he added.
Netflix said the initiative would create new pathways for emerging creators while strengthening India’s position as a global hub for entertainment production and creative innovation.
“As Netflix enters its second decade in India, we remain committed to investing in creators, strengthening the cou
