NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Mumbai, India, May 6, 2025: The global spotlight turned to Mumbai as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first-ever World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) at the Jio World Centre, setting the stage for India’s emergence as a global content and storytelling superpower.
The summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasized India’s storytelling legacy and creative potential in his keynote address. “From the Vedas to Bollywood, from street folklore to modern gaming—India is a reservoir of stories,” said the Prime Minister. Calling upon creators across the globe to “Create in India, Create for the World,” Modi urged for deeper collaborations across content, creativity, and culture—pillars he referred to as the foundation of the emerging ‘Orange Economy.’
He also paid tribute to Indian cinema legends by unveiling commemorative postage stamps and invited global creators to explore India’s vast and diverse narrative landscape. “Every street, mountain, and river in India carries a story waiting to be told,” he noted.
Calling the WAVES 2025 as a microcosm of the global community, Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, Government of India said that the Summit brings together content creators, policy makers, actors, writers, producers and visual artists on a common platform for discussing a future roadmap for the Media and Entertainment sector. During his address, Dr. Jaishankar touched upon the broad contours under consideration at the Global Media Dialogue 2025. He noted that the World order, which has a strong cultural dimension, is under transformation today. “It is essential that we give voice to our traditions, heritage, ideas, practices and creativity”, he said.
EAM stated that technology and tradition must go hand in hand, as technology can strengthen awareness of our vast heritage and deepen consciousness about it, especially for the younger generations. “It is crucial that young talent is made ready for an age of creative collaborations through relevant skill development. Innovation is key to the leapfrogging that will build Viksit Bharat”, he highlighted. In the emerging era of AI, Dr. Jaishankar stated, the possibilities are beyond imagination, yet there is a need for a responsible use of emerging technologies, while reducing bias, democratizing content and prioritizing its ethics.
“For a global workplace and global workforce, there is need for shifts in mindsets, frameworks, policies and practices”, he concluded while reposting confidence in WAVES as a platform to deliberate on the key issues before the global media and entertainment sector.
Setting the tone for the dialogue in his welcome address, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Government of India in his opening remarks said that culture inspires creativity, which connects people across borders. He added that content creation and consumption is changing fast as technology is reshaping the way we tell our stories. We are at an inflection point where we need to incentivize local content creation.
Welcoming the delegates from 77 countries to the city of dreams, Mumbai, the Shri Vaishnaw stressed on the crucial role of collaborations and asserted that for common success, we need to focus on co-production treaties, joint funds and a declaration which helps us bridge the digital divide, foster brotherhood, global peace and harmony. We need to thus widen the global bridge of creativity to an expressway of ideas, he said.
During the deliberations, where senior-most Ministerial-level delegations expressed their views, India informed participating nations about the 32 Create in India challenges, which resulted in the identification of over 700 top creators from across the globe in the first season of WAVES.
India informed the members that from the next edition, these challenges will be conducted in 25 global languages so that creative talent can be identified from across the globe in different languages. This will help them showcase their creative content at WAVES forum.
Other dignitaries gracing the occasion included Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, along with Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary (I&B), besides other senior officers of the Government of India.
A Vision for the Future: AI, Innovation, and Global Reach
The summit placed significant emphasis on the transformative role of artificial intelligence in the creative industries. Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, described India as “the world’s next creative superpower,” backed by over 100 million content creators and 500 million OTT consumers. He showcased Adobe Firefly’s generative AI capabilities while calling for ethical AI, transparency, and proper attribution.
NVIDIA’s Richard Kerris and Vishal Dhupar discussed how AI tools can personalize and localize content at scale, thereby amplifying regional voices. “India has long exported talent. Now it can export culture,” said Kerris, underlining how AI is helping democratize storytelling.
YouTube Commits ₹850 Crore to Boost Creator Economy
Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, announced a ₹850 crore investment to strengthen India’s growing creator economy. With more than 15,000 Indian channels surpassing 1 million subscribers, Mohan called India a “Creator Nation.” The platform plans to expand support for regional language creators, particularly those focused on culturally rooted content. Creators like Gautami Kawale (Slayy Point) and Mark Rober shared how Indian and STEM content is increasingly reaching global audiences, thanks to AI-powered dubbing and localization.
Advertising, Culture, and Cross-Border Partnerships
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, addressed the advertising renaissance, noting how AI-driven tools are enabling hyper-personalized storytelling. Using a Shah Rukh Khan campaign as an example, he highlighted how motion AI and digital tools are opening new avenues for MSMEs and creators alike.
On the global stage, UK Secretary of State Lisa Nandy announced a landmark Bilateral Cultural Federation Agreement between India and the UK, aimed at deepening collaboration in film, museums, and performing arts. “From Manchester to Mumbai, we must empower the next generation of storytellers,” she said, acknowledging the legacy of historical figures like Sophia Duleep Singh and modern UK-Indian creatives.
Panels Showcase India’s Expanding Influence
Two standout panel discussions explored the intersection of technology and tradition:
- “India M&E @100” looked at the next century of media and entertainment in India. Leaders from Eros Now, Jetsynthesys, and GroupM emphasized how AI-led intellectual property creation and Gen Z consumption habits are driving a new wave of disruption.
- “The Business of Influence” featured prominent creators like Chef Ranveer Brar and ChessTalk’s Jeetendra Advani. Moderated by YouTube’s Gautam Anand, the session highlighted how Indian voices—from food to chess to agriculture—are gaining global traction while preserving their cultural roots.
India’s Creative Economy on the Global Map
A major initiative unveiled at WAVES 2025 was the WAVES Bazaar, a global e-marketplace enabling Indian creators to showcase content, pitch ideas, and secure international distribution and funding. Complementing this was the announcement of a $1 billion Creators’ Economy Fund to support emerging creators with capital, training, and global exposure.
The summit concluded with the WAVES Declaration 2025, a visionary roadmap for building an inclusive and enduring World Entertainment Forum to support collaboration, innovation, and cultural exchange.
With WAVES 2025, India has not only celebrated its creative legacy but also firmly staked its claim as a future-ready, global storytelling powerhouse.
