Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday to unveil the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative, a multi-phase investment in the country’s creative talent pipeline.
The initiative builds on more than a decade of partnership between Netflix and India’s creative community, during which the streamer has produced over 200 originals and shot in more than 100 locations across the country. It is designed to prepare emerging talent for careers in animation, visual effects, gaming and comics, an area Netflix describes as a key driver of India’s “Orange Economy.”
Netflix said the program supports the Indian government’s “Viksit Bharat @ 2047” ambitions, and is designed to strengthen education, industry partnerships and creator training with the goal of establishing India as a global storytelling hub.
The initiative’s first phase centers on youth skilling and includes two new institutional partnerships. Netflix will work with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) to co-develop curricula in Visual Effects Mastery and Media Technology Workflows. The streamer is also funding 100 scholarships for Indian students to attend in-person IICT programs, including Interactive Comics and Sequential Art, Virtual Art Department Content Creation, Art of Character Animation, and E-Sports and Gaming Management.
