As part of the central government’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday launched a gaming app that introduces a fun way to learn about Indian freedom fighters.
The ‘Azadi Quest’ app is a collection of online games about Indian freedom heroes and milestones. These mobile games were developed in collaboration with popular game developer Zynga India.
Thakur said 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.
Thakur expressed confidence that people of all age groups will be hooked on to these games and that they will become household favourites quickly.
Speaking on the rising AVGC (animation visual gaming and comic) sector in India, 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 five countries in the gaming sector.
“The gaming sector has grown by 28 per cent in 2021 alone. The number of online gamers has risen by 8 per cent from 2020 to 2021 and by 2023 the number of such gamers is expected to reach 45 crores,” he 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.
Kishore Kichli, Country Head of Zynga India, said, “The path to independence commemorates a transformative milestone in India’s history and we are proud to be a part of this important national effort to honour India’s past.”
“Our mission at Zynga is to connect people through games. This initiative is designed to engage players of all ages while harnessing the power of interactive entertainment as a teaching experience about this important era,” he added.