The 6th edition of Bengaluru GAFX 2025 in Bengaluru was inaugurated today by Sri.Priyank Kharge, Hon.Minister for IT & BT, Panchayat Raj, Government of Karnataka. Speaking at the function the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India Shri Sanjay Jaju said that Hon. PM envisioned the WAVES (World Audio-Visual & Entertainment Summit) as an event which is “by the industry, for the industry and of the industry”. The WAVES summit is scheduled to be held from 01 May to 04 May, 2025 at JIO World Centre, Mumbai.

Terming Karnataka as a hub for Animation and VFX, Shri Sanjay Jaju requested the Government of Karnataka to register a huge presence at WAVES and urged industry people to send their delegates in big strength.

Ms Hilary McGeachy, the Consul General of Australia in Bengaluru, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon and other industry leaders led by ABAI were in attendance at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru. Shri Sanjay Jaju participated in a session on “Create in India: Centre and State Perspective” with Shri Biren Ghose, President ABAI, Shri Ashish Kulkarni, Chairman, AVGC-XR Forum-FICCI and Shri Munjal Shroff, Director & COO Graphiti.

While explaining the inspiration behind WAVES, Shri Sanjay Jaju said, “Hon. Prime Minister, in his address on Independence Day, had talked about the need for a world class Media & Entertainment industry in our country. He had talked about creating Indian creators, animators. He envisioned a world creator forum, where world leaders from the industry can come to India and talk upon the issues and opportunities available in this segment. After that, the entire focus of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is centred on pushing the Media & Entertainment vertical, the orange economy vertical.” 

“Our focus is on being a catalytic agent for supporting the industry to ensure that it becomes a major contributor not just to our economy but also helps us to take our stories outside,” he added. Terming India a nation having a 5000 years history of storytelling, Shri Sanjay Jaju said that this will contribute to the vast canvas of the Media and Entertainment sector. “Here, stories not only meant films alone, stories mean our soft presence in the world. We are the most populous nation in the world, 3^rd largest economy in the world and one of the best storyteller in the world, our soft message of peace should travel everywhere,” he said.