TLDR: India has cemented its status as a global creative powerhouse at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) in Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi championed India’s ‘Orange Economy’ (Content, Creativity, and Culture) as a vital growth engine, urging global creators to ‘Create in India, Create for the World.’ The summit featured significant announcements, including YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s ₹850 crore investment in India’s creator economy and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen’s commendation of India as the ‘world’s next creative superpower,’ showcasing the generative AI platform Firefly. The event highlighted India’s burgeoning potential across film, digital content, animation, gaming, music, fashion, and live experiences.
Mumbai, India – India has emphatically emerged as a global creative powerhouse, a defining theme at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) held in Mumbai on July 13, 2025. The summit served as a pivotal platform where leaders from technology, media, and culture converged to witness India’s confident ascent in the global creative landscape.
Inaugurating the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated a compelling vision, describing WAVES not merely as an acronym but as ‘a wave of culture, creativity, and universal connectivity.’ He emphasized that India, with its over a billion people, is a ‘land of over a billion stories waiting to be shared with the world.’ Prime Minister Modi framed the ‘Orange Economy’—rooted in Content, Creativity, and Culture—as India’s next significant growth engine. He extended a clear call to global creators and investors, urging them to ‘Create in India, Create for the World.’ Reflecting on the evolving digital landscape, he noted a profound paradox: ‘The screen may be getting smaller, but the scope is becoming infinite. The screen is getting micro, but the message is becoming mega.’
This expansive vision was vividly showcased throughout WAVES 2025, highlighting India’s rapid transformation into a hub for film production, digital content, animation, gaming, music, fashion, and live experiences. The summit underscored the full spectrum of India’s creative and commercial potential.
A major highlight of the event was the announcement by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, who pledged a substantial ₹850 crore investment to accelerate India’s burgeoning creator economy. Mohan cited a thriving content ecosystem, revealing that more than 15,000 Indian YouTube channels have already surpassed the one million subscriber mark. He declared, ‘India isn’t just leading in music and film—it’s now a Creator Nation.’ International creators like Mark Rober and Gautami Kawale of Slayy Point further underscored the global appeal of Indian narratives, with Kawale noting how culturally rooted regional content has achieved universal resonance.
Adding to the momentum, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen lauded India as ‘the world’s next creative superpower.’ Narayen highlighted India’s impressive statistics, including over 100 million content creators and 500 million OTT consumers, asserting that India is not only consuming but actively shaping global creative trends. During his address, Narayen demonstrated Adobe’s generative AI platform, Firefly, and stressed the critical importance of ethical AI, content authenticity, and creator attribution for fostering a sustainable global media landscape.
Also Read:
- AI-Powered Image Generation: A Lucrative Investment Frontier
- Generative AI Forges a New Economic Frontier in ASMR Content Creation
WAVES 2025 marked a significant turning point, where India’s ancient storytelling traditions, cutting-edge technology, and ambitious aspirations converged, solidifying its position as a formidable force in the global creative industry.
