The Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare of Madhya Pradesh, or the DSYW, the state’s sports regulatory body will be launching an “online” gaming and Esports academy in the upcoming month of August 2023. The online event will serve the purpose of weeding out the best prospects in the field of esports from the state and pushing them to further heights. This will be the first-ever Esports Academy in India, which will be a move made by the Madhya Pradesh state government to steer the Esports and gaming growth of the country.
Madhya Pradesh ministry feels Esports is the future
Esports and the video game industry, in general, have seen considerable growth in terms of popularity, revenue, and worth in recent years all over the world, and the tides reached the shores of India as well. Apart from esports tournaments in the international scene where the prize money often scales up to the multi-million dollar mark, hundreds of thousands of dollars are up for grabs in Indian esports as well.
Yashodhara Raje Scindia, the minister of Technical Education, Skill Development and Employment of Madhya Pradesh said that in the upcoming online event, an unlimited number of players and teams will be able to register as long as they are within the age range of 10 to 17 years old, that is, non-adults. She further quoted “MP has become a sports hub. The objective behind launching the Esports Academy is to promote all such sports that have a presence in the Asian Games and the Olympics.“
The aim is to give aspiring youngsters a chance to convert their passion and hobby into a sustainable profession. Madhya Pradesh aims to put esports on the front page as well besides traditional sports, given the interest of the youth in the digital and technological realm. But which games will make up the competition and the format of the academy is not clear as no details have been disclosed. The event will be conducted between the 23rd of July, 2023 and the 7th of August, 2023.
Final Thoughts
Although this is a great initiative, individuals who are very aware of the current esports scenario in India might raise some questions. Battlegrounds Mobile India or BGMI, the Indian iteration of PUBG Mobile occupies the bulk of the esports scene in India, and when one game tips the scales so largely in their favour, it becomes rather tough for other games to thrive given the lack of enthusiasm by the audience towards them. Despite this being controversial, there is certainly some truth to this thought.
Do you think the decision by the Madhya Pradesh government to set up the first esports academy in India is viable? Why do you think it is? Or why do you think it isn’t? Let us know in the comments below!
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