Indian animation industry has a potential to touch earn a revenue of over $1.5 billion by 2005 compared to the current $1 billion, but the sector is facing shortage of trained manpower, Kiran Karnik, president of National Association of Software and Service Companies said on Tuesday.

Delivering his address at a seminar on "IT and Animation: Let's Talk", organised by the e-entertainment alliance, a joint initiative of Federation of Indian Industry and Commerce, Nasscom and TiE in Bangalore, Karnik said the industry has a potential to grow two to two and half times the existing revenues by 2005.

Pointing at the lack of trained manpower in the industry, he said, the shortage was not only in creative people, but also in scripts and storywriters.

Referring to a small domestic market despite having a booming film and TV industry, Karnik said, Indian firms should exploit export opportunities and enter into co-producing arrangements.

"Like in the 1990's, when large number of IT and engineering institutions particularly in the South came up to help grow the IT sector, there needs to be a spurt in high quality training institutions for the animation sector," he said.

Karnik said the global animation market was expected to reach $50 billion to $70 billion by 2005, and India had enormous advantage to tap this opportunity.