Budget 2026: India's Creative Economy Aims for Global Leadership, Not Just Production

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2026 emphasizes India's 'orange economy' (creative industries) for employment and growth, projecting demand for two million AVGC professionals by 2030.
• A key proposal includes establishing AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, supported by the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, to develop a future-ready creative workforce.
• Industry experts like Shudeep Majumdar (Zefmo) and Sohail Qadri Khan (Kofluence) highlight the need for policy support beyond skilling, focusing on intellectual property (IP) creation and ownership to prevent India from remaining a 'creator factory'.
• The challenge lies in transitioning from providing skilled labor for global platforms to conceiving, owning, and monetizing IP from India, fostering 'creator-entrepreneurs' rather than just 'employable operators'.
• Sustainable growth requires addressing gaps in supply-demand alignment, quality standards prioritizing IP ownership, career frameworks for creative leadership, and patient capital for creative businesses.

Why It Matters: Budget 2026 aims to transform India's creative industries from a 'creator factory' to a 'creative headquarters' through skilling and IP ownership.