New Delhi: The Centre has recognized Esports (Electronic Sports) as a form of multi-sport events. The Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will be authorized for esports, according to the press release.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been appointed as the nodal ministry for online gaming.
The Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been notified as the nodal Ministry for “eSports as part of multi-sports events”.
The Centre notified these amendments to the Allocation of Business Rules recently.
Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted that Ministry will soon come out with norms for online gaming intermediaries.
The government is committed to fully encouraging tech innovation, but also to ensure no illegal content/services is possible. “@GoI_MeitY will soon publish rules for online gaming intermediaries and start public consultation on same,” Chandrasekhar tweeted on Tuesday.
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) lauded the government’s move to appoint the IT Ministry as the nodal ministry to regulate the online gaming sector, saying, “the appointment of MeitY as the central regulatory authority will provide clarity and certainty to investors, industry and consumers.”
“The decision is in line with the government’s initiative to push for growth of the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) sector and making India a global hub for online gaming,” Joy Bhattacharjya, Director-General, FIFS said.
Bhattacharjya added: “We are sure that the online gaming industry will grow responsibly under MeitY’s guidance and the industry is looking forward to working with MeitY in creating a well-balanced regulatory framework.”
