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In recent years, India has witnessed a remarkable surge in the popularity and growth of esports, marking its transition from a niche interest to a mainstream phenomenon. E-sports has firmly established its presence in the Indian gaming landscape, captivating the imaginations of millions of enthusiasts across the nation.
In an interview with ANI, Girish Menon, the Chief Strategy Officer of Jet Synthesis, shared insights into the burgeoning gaming industry in India and its potential impact on the economy, during 'Startup Mahakumbh' held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. "E-sports is a cycle that has been around globally for a while now, but in India in the last four to five years it has really caught up. Particularly last three years, e-sports has become very, very mainstream" Menon said. Notably, the Indian government has officially recognized e-sports as a formal sport, underscoring its significance as a medal event at prestigious international competitions such as the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, with plans for inclusion as an exhibition event at the Olympic Games. "The government has recognized e-sports as a formal sport. It's now a medal event at the Asian Games, medal event at the Commonwealth, it's going to be an exhibition event at the Olympic Games. This is really going to be a mainstream sport as we move along" Mennon said. He added, "In the past four to five years, e-sports has witnessed significant growth, with the last three years marking its mainstream acceptance." Menon emphasized that gaming now offers genuine career prospects, whether as professional players, casters, or employees within e-sports organizations, thus debunking the notion of gaming as merely a time-wasting activity. "For the younger generation that is Gen Z, this is probably in a lot of their minds, the number one sport because they spend most of their time on their mobile phones. So in that sense, there is now a greater opportunity to create a career out of gaming" he said. Jet Synthesis, in its endeavor to support gamers, has introduced initiatives to professionalize the sector. Menon said, "Unlike earlier, now this is no longer a time waste, this is a genuine career option. Whether you choose to be a professional player, you choose to be a caster, you choose to work in an e-sports organization, gaming is a true career model for a lot of youngsters now." Additionally, Menon mentioned, the e-league boasts substantial prize pools, with Season 1 offering a total prize pool of 2.5 crores, surpassing many traditional sports events in India. "So we are probably the only league today that pays salaries to the gamers so that when they are playing the game, we don't want them distracted, we don't want their parents worrying about what are they going to do. They are just playing the game and competing and earning and winning and this is beyond the prize money" he said. "In fact, when we did season 1, we had a total price pool of 2.5 crores, which is actually larger than most sports in India. It was among the largest price pool in e-sports in India. And if you compare it outside of cricket, maybe compared to most other sports also, it was a fairly sizeable business. So our objective is to break all traditions on this and make this into a truly mainstream product" he added. When questioned about the potential economic impact of the gaming industry, Menon estimated its current value at 2-3 billion dollars, contributing approximately 1.5-2 per cent to India's economy. "Gaming in India today, we are close to about 2-3 billion dollars. It's really about 1.5 per cent or 2 per cent of India's economy. My aim would be in another 10-15 years we would definitely want to get 2-3 per cent of India's GDP in contribution and I think that's really possible particularly as we would scale and more importantly as we go deeper and deeper into the country. I think that's definitely possible" he said. Regarding government support, Menon acknowledged the positive impact of various initiatives and funds introduced to foster the startup ecosystem in India. "It's been a great help whether it's the various funds that the government has set up, whether it's the various ease of doing business initiatives that the government has set up, or if I just step back a second and look at the investment climate in India and the level of interest and the money flow into startups in India, those are great things or the way startups or industries work" he said. Menon emphasized the collaborative nature of the ecosystem, where industries converge, creating opportunities for innovation and growth. He said, "What's also very moving to see through events like this is how different ecosystem are coming together to work together because it's not like earlier where you say that okay this is an e-commerce company this is a fintech company this is a gaming company right as a gaming company." Menon reiterated the significance of diversification and collaboration within the startup ecosystem, envisioning a future where industries seamlessly align to create new avenues for growth and development. He further added, "And when we create opportunities for different industries to start aligning together, you will see far more opportunities coming." (ANI)
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