As part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and to bring forth the story of the Indian freedom struggle, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur today launched ‘Azadi Quest’, a series of online educational mobile games developed in collaboration with Zynga India. Also present at the occasion were Secretary of, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Apurva Chandra, and the Country Head of Zynga India, Shri Kishore Kichli.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Anurag Thakur said that this was another in a series of efforts by the Government to acknowledge the contribution, of our freedom fighters and unsung heroes, to the freedom struggle.
“These games are an effort to tap into the huge market of online gamers and to educate them through games. Various arms of the Government of India have collected information about unsung freedom fighters from the corners of the country. Azadi Quest is an effort to make this learning of this knowledge engaging and interactive”, the Minister elaborated. Shri Thakur expressed confidence that people of all age groups will be hooked on these games and they will become household favorites quickly.
Speaking on the rising AVGC sector in India Shri Thakur said that it has been a continuous effort of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to nurture the AVGC sector in India. In the past few years, India has risen to stand among the top 5 countries in the gaming sector. The gaming sector has grown by 28% in 2021 alone. The number of online gamers has risen by 8 percent from 2020 to 2021 and by 2023 the number of such gamers is expected to reach 45 crores, the Minister added.
He further stated that these apps will bolster the capabilities of our AVGC sector and at the same time take our glorious history to the corners of the world. The information in these apps has been curated by the Publications Division and the Indian Council of Historical Research and will become an easily accessible treasure-trove of authentic information on our freedom struggle, he said.
The Minister acknowledged the strenuous efforts of Zynga India that have gone into the creation of these apps. The Minister exhorted people of all age groups to download these apps and said this app will become an important educative tool to learn about our freedom struggle. The app will simultaneously entertain, engage and educate the users.