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Popular Indian content creator and esports athlete Tanmay “Scout” Singh recently addressed the future of esports in India. Scout expressed his belief that there is a lot of cooperation from officials, and people are doing their best to promote esports. He also expressed his optimism about the future of esports in India, suggesting that in a few years, it could be incorporated into the academic curriculum as a formal subject.
Scout believes the future of esports is bright in India
During a livestream, a viewer asked Scout about the future of esports in India given the lack of cooperation from officials. Scout disagreed with the premise of the question and stated that there was a lot of cooperation at present and people were trying their best to promote esports.
Scout went on to express his optimism about the future of esports in India, suggesting that in a few years, esports could be incorporated into the academic curriculum as a formal subject, drawing parallels to traditional subjects like Science and Maths. “If you see the future of esports, I feel that in a few years, there will be a subject (in schools and colleges) as ‘esports.’ Like Science and Maths are subjects (in schools and colleges), esports will also be a subject. That’s what I feel,” he said.
According to Lumikai, the Indian gaming market hit $2.6 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and is projected to reach $8.6 billion in FY27. With such a massive growth, the future of esports in India looks promising, with a rapidly growing audience and increasing investments in the industry. Notably, the government of India also recognized esports as a part of “multi-sports events” under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Yuvak Karyakram Aur Khel Mantralaya).
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules [IT Rules] 2021 to include regulatory norms for online gaming in the country. With the growth of online games in the country, the government recognized the need for these games to be in line with Indian laws and has proposed several draft amendments to empower the online gaming industry to safeguard gamers in a responsible manner.
