NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Chanchal Kumar on Thursday urged the media and entertainment industry to look beyond scale and focus on creating original intellectual property (IP), developing sustainable business models and expanding into global markets to position India as a leading source of creative content, technology and talent, and build globally competitive media companies.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two day CII Big Picture Summit 2026, themed “The New Economics of Media and Entertainment: Building India’s Future Global Media Companies”, Kumar said India has the opportunity to translate its rich storytelling traditions, cultural diversity and creative talent into lasting economic and cultural value.
He linked the summit theme to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s WAVES 2025 vision of “Create In India, Create For The World”, emphasising both innovation and trust.
Highlighting the Government’s efforts to strengthen India’s creative ecosystem, Kumar referred to initiatives such as WAVES, WAVES Bazaar, the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and India Cine Hub. He also underscored the importance of a robust anti-piracy framework to protect creativity and intellectual property, emphasising the vision of “Create in India. Own in India. Scale from India. Take it to the world.”
On the occasion, Kumar also inaugurated the WAVES Global Investor and Investee Meet, bringing together more than 150 investors and investees. The initiative connected nearly 20 participants from WaveX and WAVES Bazaar, strengthening links between capital providers and emerging creative businesses.
The summit also witnessed the release of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) White Paper, The New Economics of Media & Entertainment, which outlines a roadmap for India’s media and entertainment sector to reach 100 billion US dollar by the early 2030s. The paper calls for faster reforms, stronger regional markets and measurable implementation to accelerate the sector’s growth.
The Summit Chair and MD & CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India Gaurav Banerjee called for a fundamental rethink of business models. “A large audience is, finally, just a starting point. It is not a business model.” He urged greater focus on audience value, measurable advertiser outcomes and sustainable investor returns.
Summit’s Co-Chair and Country MD of YouTube India Gunjan Soni described creativity and culture as economic strengths supporting India’s “Viksit Bharat” ambition. She said digital technology and AI could help a young generation of creators turn imagination and local identity into world-class enterprises.