AI is rapidly shaping the creative industries, from visual effects (VFX), animation, and video gaming to comics and extended reality (XR). India has a significant opportunity to contribute to and benefit from this transformation. As I wrote in Exploring the Metaverse, realizing this potential requires a collective effort across industry, academia, government, and the wider technology community.

I’m pleased to contribute to one such initiative as part of the Super Jury for the FICCI BAF Awards 2026, evaluating entries across the XR and AI categories.

Let’s explore this a little further.

FICCI BAF Awards 2026

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) represents Indian business and industry and works to shape policies that support economic and industrial development. The FICCI BAF Awards recognize achievements by students and professionals across animation and related creative technologies, including visual effects (VFX), video gaming, comics, extended reality (XR), and artificial intelligence.

As part of the Super Jury, I had the opportunity to evaluate entries in the XR and AI categories from students and industry professionals. Seeing the range of ideas, experimentation, and creativity across these submissions was an enriching experience.

The awards are part of FICCI FRAMES, taking place on 29–30 September, 2026 at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai.

My thanks to Garima Singh,FICCI and Rohit Sardana and TheYouthTalks Team for orchestrating this initiative and inviting me.

Keep learning. Keep sharing. Keep growing!