NEW DELHI: India’s digital landscape is undergoing a significant transformation driven by the rise of its creator economy. According to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm, the country’s creators currently influence over 350 billion US dollar in consumer spending annually; a figure expected to surpass 1 trillion US dollar by 2030.
The report titled “From Content to Commerce: Mapping India’s Creator Economy” will be launched on Saturday at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit in Mumbai.
As per the report, India is home to 2 to 2.5 million active digital creators, with over 1,000 followers. Despite the scale, only 8–10 percent of them currently monetize their content effectively, underscoring the untapped potential of the fast-growing sector. The creator ecosystem’s direct revenues, estimated at 20–25 US dollar billion at present, are projected to reach 100–125 billion US dollars by the end of the decade.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MI&B) said, “Discussions on the emerging contours of artificial intelligence (AI), social media, animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC) sector and films reflect India’s expanding footprint in the digital media sphere.”
PM Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the four-day summit with an array of artists, creators, policymakers and world leaders from media and entertainment industry in attendance.
The ministry highlighted the key insights from the report. It said that the creators influence more than 30 percent of consumer decisions, shaping 350–400 billion US dollars in spending today.
“The ecosystem is expanding beyond Gen Z and metropolitan centres. Short-form video remains the dominant content format, with comedy, films, daily soaps, and fashion being the most consumed genres. Brand strategies are evolving, with increased emphasis on faster content production, creative freedom, diversified consumer targeting, and outcome-based testing,” it read.
Referring to the BCG findings, the ministry further said that brands are expected to scale up their investments in creator marketing by 1.5 to 3 times in the coming years, signaling a pivotal shift in marketing and commerce driven by the digital creator ecosystem.