India Announces $1 Billion Fund For Creators' Economy Ahead Of WAVES Summit

The Centre on Thursday announced a USD 1 billion fund to give a boost to the emerging creators' economy in the country and reached out to envoys from over 100 countries seeking their participation in the first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) to be held in Mumbai.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hosted the envoys here and sought their presence at the Roundtable of top media CEOs to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the WAVES summit.

India is positioning WAVES to be held from May 1 to 4 as the first convergence platform for the media and entertainment sector on the lines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, a gathering of international leaders from governance and business.

D Fadnavis said Mumbai, the entertainment capital of India, was the perfect permanent venue for the WAVES summit like Davos is for the World Economic Forum and Cannes is for the eponymous film festival.

"The world is already witnessing economic and political rebalancing. This is now moving to its technology and its cultural facets as well. Real globalisation is not about a single narrative or one truth; it is about capturing the enormous diversity of our people on our planet," Jaishankar said.

Mr Vaishnaw announced that a USD 1 billion fund will be created for the creators' economy.

"This fund will be dedicated to ensuring that the energetic creators, who are using the latest technologies, will be able to access capital, hone their skills, upgrade their production levels, and reach the global markets," Mr Vaishnaw said.

The minister also announced that the first Indian Institute of Creative Technology will come up in Mumbai and the government of Maharashtra has already allotted land in Film City at Goregaon.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said S Jaishankar and Mr Vaishnaw will host the Global Media Dialogue and the Thought Leaders Track will feature plenary sessions and panel discussions by industry leaders.

The WAVES Bazaar will be the marketplace offering a content showcase alongside buyer-seller meets to foster business opportunities.

Mr Jaju said the Creatosphere at the WAVES will be a platform for young creators to connect, learn and collaborate through masterclasses, workshops and networking sessions.

Mr Vaishnaw said the 'Create in India Challenge', a precursor to the WAVES, had received over 25 lakh submissions and more than 80,000 creators moved to the next level of the challenge.

Of the 80,000 entries, 1,000 participants will feature in the finals of the various challenges that will be held during the WAVES summit, the minister said.

The vision behind this initiative was to bring together the creative world and modern technological usage to create unique content, he said.

Mr Vaishnaw also highlighted that over 100 countries are participating in it and it is a confluence of tech, media and entertainment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)