The Maharashtra Government has proposed granting industry status to the the animation and gaming sectors and extending them benefits akin to those available to IT units in the state, a senior State Government official said.

Besides the above two sectors, the government will also extend the same benefits to two more related segments-- visual effects and comics, he said.

"There is a huge potential in the animation, visual- effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) space which is growing by leaps and bounds every year. We want to prepare a specific policy to promote these sectors as a separate industry," the State's Development Commissioner (Industries) Sanjay Sethi told PTI here.

A task force comprising the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), NASSCOM and experts from the field, is working on the policy.

"We have recommended that the State should encourage development of AVGC parks by providing incentives like additional Financial Sector Incentive (FSI), tax benefits and making available electricity at cheaper rates, among others," MCCIA's Joint Chairman Ashish Kulkarni said.

MCCIA has also recommended that entertainment tax should not be levied on AVGC units at least for the next five-years.

The government should also make a provision for a promotional fund in its budget for the next three-years, he said.