WAVES SUMMIT AMPLIFIES INDIA’S CREATIVE AMBITIONS ON THE GLOBAL STAGE

The WAVES Summit, aligned with the Government’s “Create in India, Create for the World” vision, has emerged as a powerful platform connecting Indian creators, startups and producers with global markets. With initiatives like Create in India Challenges, WaveX incubation and WAVES Bazaar, it is driving jobs, innovation and exports.

India’s ambition to become a global powerhouse in content creation received a significant boost with the organisation of the WAVES Summit, a flagship initiative aligned with the Government’s “Create in India, Create for the World” vision. Conceived as a comprehensive platform to connect India’s creative ecosystem with the world, WAVES has rapidly evolved into a bridge between homegrown talent and global opportunity.

The Summit brought together Indian creators, producers and startups with buyers, investors, OTT platforms and technology leaders from more than 100 countries, underscoring the scale of India’s aspirations in the media and entertainment sector. By integrating talent discovery, incubation and international market access under one umbrella, WAVES is positioning India not merely as a consumer of global content, but as a formidable exporter of original intellectual property.

At the heart of this transformation lies the Create in India Challenges (CIC), a nationwide talent identification and nurturing initiative that has captured the imagination of creators across disciplines. Spanning 33 creative challenges across categories such as animation, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, and music, the programme has attracted over one lakh registrations from participants across the world. The scale of response signals both the depth of India’s creative reservoir and the global interest in collaborating with it.

The winners of these challenges are not just felicitated; they are propelled onto international platforms. Selected creators are being supported for participation, showcasing and business-to-business meetings at major global events in cities such as Melbourne, Osaka, Toronto, Tokyo, Madrid, Busan and Cannes. By ensuring representation at these influential markets, CIC is opening doors that were once accessible only to established industry players. At the national level too, opportunities have been extended at leading industry gatherings such as IndiaJoy, IGDC and IFFI Goa, reinforcing CIC’s role as an engine of creator discovery and intellectual property development.

Complementing this talent pipeline is WaveX, a startup-led innovation and incubation platform dedicated to the media and entertainment sector. With a focus on entrepreneurship and job creation, WaveX seeks to convert creative ideas into viable enterprises. Currently incubating 34 startups under physical and hybrid models, the platform also has a robust pipeline of more than 100 applications awaiting evaluation, indicating strong interest from innovators across the country.

WaveX’s impact is already visible. Ten startups selected under the KalaaSetu and BhashaSetu challenges are executing pilot deployments with government organisations, demonstrating how creative technology solutions can be integrated into public systems. These pilots serve as proof of concept, strengthening confidence among investors and institutional partners while showcasing the potential of Indian startups to address real-world challenges.

The incubation model is poised for expansion. Strategic institutional partnerships have been forged with leading innovation hubs such as T-Hub and FITT, IIT Delhi, laying the foundation for a pan-India incubation and research and development network. Additional partnerships with institutions including Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Film and Television Institute of India and Indian Institute of Mass Communication aim to integrate domain expertise, technical research and creative training into a cohesive support system for emerging ventures.

While talent discovery and incubation are critical, access to markets ultimately determines sustainability. Recognising this, the Government operationalised WAVES Bazaar as a year-round digital marketplace dedicated to facilitating B2B meetings, licensing deals, co-productions and international market access for Indian audio-visual content. Unlike traditional film markets that are limited to specific calendar events, WAVES Bazaar functions continuously, enabling sustained engagement between sellers and buyers.

The platform has already registered more than 6,000 sellers and over 4,000 buyers and companies, resulting in more than 8,000 B2B meetings. These numbers are more than statistics; they reflect the emergence of a structured ecosystem where Indian content creators can negotiate, collaborate and monetise their work on a global scale. Through participation in more than ten international markets across four continents, WAVES Bazaar has facilitated multiple memoranda of understanding, supporting co-productions, licensing agreements, investment partnerships and expanded global distribution.

The ripple effects of these initiatives extend beyond immediate business transactions. By strengthening skilling, entrepreneurship and employment generation, WAVES is contributing to the broader goal of building a resilient creative economy. The expansion of WaveX incubation centres and the sustained implementation of the Create in India Challenges are central to this strategy. Together, they create a pipeline that begins with talent identification, progresses through mentorship and incubation, and culminates in international market access.

Knowledge-sharing has also been embedded into the framework. Masterclasses, workshops and sessions led by global experts form a vital component of the Summit and its associated programmes. These engagements expose Indian creators to evolving technologies, international standards and emerging business models, ensuring that the domestic industry remains competitive in a rapidly changing global landscape. For young professionals in animation, gaming, AR/VR and music, such interactions can be transformative, bridging the gap between aspiration and execution.

The vision driving these efforts was articulated in Parliament by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L. Murugan. In a written reply to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha by Members of Parliament Deepak Prakash, Ujjwal Nikam and Kesridevsinh Jhala, the Minister outlined the scale and scope of WAVES and its associated initiatives. The statement underscored the Government’s commitment to transforming creative talent into sustainable livelihoods and enhancing exports of Indian audio-visual content.

For decades, India’s creative industries have been synonymous with cinema and music that captivated domestic audiences and diaspora communities. Today, the canvas is far broader. Animation studios collaborate across borders, independent game developers find global users, AR/VR innovators create immersive experiences, and musicians distribute their work on international streaming platforms. WAVES seeks to harness this momentum systematically, offering infrastructure, mentorship and market linkages that reduce entry barriers for emerging creators.

The convergence of policy support, institutional partnerships and digital platforms reflects a recognition that the creative economy is both a cultural and economic asset. By linking Indian talent to global demand, the “Create in India, Create for the World” initiative aspires to reposition the country from a production outsourcing hub to a source of original, globally competitive content.

As WAVES Bazaar continues its year-round operations and WaveX scales its incubation network, the expectation is that creative entrepreneurship will generate new jobs and stimulate regional growth. Smaller cities and emerging clusters stand to benefit as digital connectivity dissolves geographical constraints. With sustained outreach to international markets, Indian creators may increasingly see their stories, games and immersive experiences resonate with audiences far beyond national borders.

In weaving together talent discovery, startup incubation and global market access, the WAVES Summit signals a strategic shift. It frames creativity not as a niche pursuit but as a pillar of economic development and soft power. If momentum continues, India’s creative wave may well become a defining force in the global content landscape.