UP Government Signs MoU With Garena to Host International Esports Tournaments

India has taken another small step in the gaming and esports sector with the Government of Uttar Pradesh signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Garena, a game development and publishing company headquartered in Singapore, earlier today on 29^th July.

The partnership is focused on fostering the growth of esports in Uttar Pradesh, with the state government taking the initiative to organize international esports events and tournaments. To accomplish this vision and support Garena's efforts, Yotta, a part of India's Hiranandani Group, has joined the partnership. Yotta will provide essential local support and offer data center and cloud hosting services to ensure the successful realization of the esports development plan. Together, they aim to nurture and showcase the talents of Indian esports players on a global stage.

Government of Uttar Pradesh Partners With Garena and Yotta to Develop Esports and Host International Tournaments

In March earlier this year, the UP Government had planned on providing a major push to esports as part of its new sports policy. They had set a target of creating an ecosystem to promote esports across the state and India.

The initial steps discussed consist of achieving the following fundamental agendas,

1. Creation of a talent search and skill development model by studying the national and international esports ecosystem.

2. Setting up an esports center in Uttar Pradesh with the help of private sector organizations.

3. Providing esports players the same facilities that are provided to athletes in other sports.

4. Establishing an incentive and reward structure for esports athletes.

5. Organizing and hosting both national and international level esports events and tournaments in Uttar Pradesh.

6. Providing basic infrastructure to esports athletes in every district.

7. Including esports under various beneficiary schemes.

8. Promoting esports through schools and colleges.

9. Encouraging parents to recognize new opportunities in esports and gaming sectors, while not viewing them as bad habit.

Four months later, the UP Government has partnered with Garena and Yotta to promote and develop esports, taking its first step towards accomplishing some of the agendas listed above.

Garena will focus on hosting international esports events and tournaments in Uttar Pradesh, which will also serve as a platform to showcase Indian esports talent to the world.

Yotta, a new-age data service provider that offers data center, cloud, IT management, application modernization, connectivity, and cybersecurity, will provide all the necessary support required by Garena to fulfill this vision.

In total two MoUs were signed at the KD Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow. The first was between the UP Government and Garena, while the second was between Garena and Yotta.

All of this took place in the presence of Girish Chandra Yadav - UP Minister for Sports, Navneet Sehgal - Additional Chief Secretary for Sports, Sunil Gupta - CEO and Co-Founder of Yotta, and Gang Ye - CEO and Co-Founder of Sea Ltd.

According to the government, the decision to onboard Yotta's services was strategic as one of its two MeitY-empanelled (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), highly secure, and hyperscale data centers is located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It will fulfill all the data-related requirements and necessities, while keeping sensitive data and personal information of users safe and within the control of Indian authorities.

This has been a major issue for the Government of India in the past with titles like PUBG Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and many other titles facing a permanent or temporary ban throughout the country.

As a matter of fact, Garena's own Free Fire was banned in India on 14^th February 2022 and continues to be unavailable within the country. However, an upgraded version of the same mobile game, Free Fire MAX was never takedown within the country and continues to function without any complications.