Government Push Boosts India’s Creative Economy, Strengthens Support For Content Creators
The Union government has stepped up efforts to promote India’s rapidly expanding creative economy, with a series of initiatives aimed at supporting content creators, encouraging innovation, and ensuring a safe, fair and accountable digital ecosystem.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha on Friday, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government recognises the creative economy as a major source of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for India’s youth. Policy measures have been designed to strengthen the “orange economy” by integrating creativity, culture and technology into a sustainable engine of economic growth.
A key initiative in this direction was the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, organised in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of positioning India as a global hub for content creation. The summit focused on addressing challenges related to financing, skilling and international market access, while promoting the theme “Create in India, Create for the World.”
Vaishnaw said that WAVES 2025 attracted more than one lakh participants from over 100 countries and featured over 140 sessions, including plenaries, masterclasses and breakout discussions involving global industry leaders.
Several flagship initiatives emerged from the summit. WaveX, a platform for startup-led innovation in the media and entertainment sector, enabled 30 startups to pitch ideas to investors and facilitated exhibitions for more than 100 startups. The government has since established the first WaveX incubation centre at the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, with additional centres planned across the country.
Another major outcome, WAVES Bazaar, was launched as a marketplace for scripts, music, comics and audio-visual rights, creating new revenue streams for creators. Now being continued as a year-round platform, it has facilitated business-to-business engagements across more than 10 international markets, supporting co-productions, licensing and investment partnerships for Indian creators and companies.
The Create in India Challenge (CIC), a nationwide creative talent hunt covering 33 categories such as animation, gaming, AR/VR and music, received over one lakh registrations from India and abroad. Winners are being supported to showcase their work at major international cultural platforms and national events, positioning CIC as a key pipeline for talent discovery and intellectual property creation.
To institutionalise skilling and innovation, the government has established the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, as a National Centre of Excellence for AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality). The institute offers industry-aligned training, startup incubation and access to advanced infrastructure, while collaborating with global technology partners.
Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has also introduced initiatives to integrate digital creators into public service broadcasting. Programmes such as “Creator’s Corner”, aired on DD News and DD National, provide national exposure to emerging creators and micro-influencers, while ensuring transparency and retention of intellectual property rights.
Vaishnaw said the government’s digital policies are focused on ensuring an open, safe, trusted and fair cyberspace. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, notified under the IT Act, mandate transparent content moderation practices, grievance redressal mechanisms, and user safeguards on digital platforms.
These rules require social media intermediaries to provide notice and grievance mechanisms to users, including content creators and influencers, when content is removed or accounts are suspended. Non-compliance may result in the loss of liability protection under Section 79 of the IT Act.
Vaishnaw said the government has also introduced structured monetisation and distribution frameworks for independent creators through the WAVES OTT platform. Further, Budget 2026–27 has proposed support for IICT, Mumbai, to establish AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, aimed at nurturing creative talent from an early stage.
