FEAI meets Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education, Women, Children, Youth & Sports

Khel Today Bureau

New Delhi: Continuing its push towards a rapid and robust development of Esports in India, the Federation of Electronic Sports Associations of India (FEAI), the apex national body for Esports in India met with Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education, Women, Children, Youth & Sports and Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, on March 23^rd. FEAI submitted its knowledge paper and sought support of Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe for a well-planned development of esports. Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe had previously highlighted in parliament the impact of online gaming on the youth and the need for positive regulation.

Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe duly acknowledged the takeaways from the report. The policy paper seeks to facilitate a policy-centered esports outlook that aims to address India’s unique definition for esports, which not only welcomes conventional global esports outlook but most importantly promotes India’s indigenous talent and narrative. The report also propounds a strong talent development ecosystem that covers the spectrum of talent, businesses, job creation, education, and revenue generation for India with regional centres of excellence.

Shri Vaibhav Dange, Founding Member, Federation of Electronic Sports Associations India said, “We have been interacting with various key stakeholders and seeking alignment on a policy-centered esports outlook. We would further request for support to establish consultations with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports & Ministry of Information &  Broadcasting to develop a wholistic Esports ecosystem that places primacy on Athletes and their development while contributing to an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ through job creation and economic growth.

FEAI has also met with Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar Hon’ble Minister of State Electronics & Information Technology and Shri Sushil Modi, Former Dy CM of Bihar and  Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha recently to share the policy paper.

FEAI looks at esports as an important component of the overall gaming and sports industry of India. FEAI brings a holistic perspective that caters to all stakeholders: be it the developers who are designing the game or the players playing the game, or organisers organising tournaments. All of them have different roles to play. So, after looking at the situation from this holistic perspective, FEAI drafted the policy paper after interacting with the stakeholders. FEAI is focused on bringing Indian games to the fore. FEAI is also looking at a bottom-up approach, wherein it can host tournaments at colleges, universities, districts etc. to cultivate the esports culture.

India is amongst the top 5 mobile gaming markets in the world. In the next 2 years, this sector will be worth Rs 3 lac crore. As the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has time and again highlighted, India should lead the digital gaming sector, develop games inspired from its culture, folk tales and this is the genesis of the idea of FEAI of taking India’s ideas, definitions, and athletes in a rightful manner to the global centre stage.

FEAI invited to support MEITY in formulating industry stakeholders representation to develop a fair and transparent esports ecosystem in representation of Indian Governments’ AVGC mandate.

There are over 1.7 million esports users presently in India, and some of these are professional athletes who have won international laurels for the country.  Esports is set to be a medal sport in the Asian Games 2022, it will also be played as an exhibition event during the Commonwealth Games 2022 and FEAI hopes could be soon inducted in the Olympics once the International Olympic Committee determines the format.

About Federation of Electronic Sports Associations India:

FEAI is the apex national body for Esports in India. We ensure opportunities at grassroots in a transparent ecosystem to develop India’s Esports champions who dominate the global arena. Esports is the bridge to a New Digital India created by the Youth. FEAI’s mission is to develop an inclusive, safe, healthy, and sustainable Esports ecosystem with a particular focus on responsible gaming, holistic wellness, fair play, education, and career pathways for players and athletes. We encourage and promote innovation, showcasing the responsible use of technological development including AI, VR, AR, ML, IoT & 5G. We foster grassroots opportunities in Esports through the staging of international, national, regional, state, and district-level events through the year.