‘Karnataka must transition from IT workforce to imagination workforce’

The world’s scarcest resources are human imagination, judgement, taste, and the distinct craft required to turn creative ideas into real-world value, says Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) expert Biren Ghose

Updated - November 06, 2026 12:43 pm IST - Bengaluru

Karnataka’s Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar at Bengaluru Skill Summit, a three-day deliberation, on November 4, 2026.

Karnataka must transition from an ‘IT workforce to an imagination workforce’, urged industry leader and Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) expert Biren Ghose.

Speaking at the Bengaluru Skill Summit, a three-day deliberation, he called for a massive shift in Karnataka’s growth strategy, insisting that the State should focus on creating an imagination (creative talent) workforce to trigger the growth of its orange economy.

He said the sector has employed over 25,000 artists and technicians since 2005, and argued that intellectual property (IP) backed by human creativity must drive the State’s next economic era. “Can we have a pool of 100,000 orange economy experts in a few years? Yes, it is possible,” he said.

Addressing an audience of educators, policymakers, and industry insiders, Mr. Ghose emphasised that while Karnataka’s first revolution was defined by Information Technology (IT), its future lies in IP. He pointed out that the rise of Artificial Intelligence was rapidly transforming the modern workplace, making traditional code and content highly automated and inexpensive.

In this new landscape, Mr. Ghose explained, the world’s scarcest resources are human imagination, judgement, taste, and the distinct craft required to turn creative ideas into real-world value.

He issued a sharp critique of the current education system, noting that schools and training institutes continue to prepare young people for software and technical tools that would expire before they even graduate.

He urged a pivot away from basic ‘tool certificates’ toward deep, foundational capability. Furthermore, he advocated decentralising a creative push. “Instead of merely servicing global IP, locally we should focus on creating original Indian intellectual property,” Mr. Ghose insisted.

To achieve this vision, he proposed the launch of a bold initiative: the Karnataka Creative Skills Mission or the Karnataka Imagination Mission, built on the outline of a multi-pronged strategy.

Under this, by 2030, the State should be able to set up 100 creative labs, whose are seamlessly connected to classrooms and respective creative industries. The State should have 10,000 apprenticeships designed to merge talent with emerging technologies and 1,000 Original IPs generated locally to turn imagination into enterprise.

Published - November 06, 2026 12:42 pm IST

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