India’s Digital Future: Own Your Cultural Content

India successfully connected over a billion people to the internet, establishing a world-class digital infrastructure over the past eleven years. The strategic imperative for the nation’s next decade is to own the vast cultural content and experiences consumed on these digital platforms.

While India boasts a significant digital audience, much of the entertainment, stories, music, and games consumed are created, owned, and monetized by overseas entities. This situation transcends mere business concerns, posing a question of strategic sovereignty akin to debates around semiconductors or payment systems. Owning the culture a billion people consume is deemed as critical as owning the digital infrastructure itself, as highlighted by Rajan Navani.

Key Digital Economy Figures

India’s digital landscape shows significant scale and growth:

• Over 900 million internet users actively engage with digital platforms.
• The media and entertainment industry grew by 9% in 2025.
• This sector reached a valuation of ₹2.78 lakh crore in 2025, with digital media as its largest segment.

Despite India providing consumers, creative talent, and capital to global digital ecosystems, intellectual property ownership and long-term value creation predominantly reside outside the country. The objective is not protectionism, but rather to foster equal participation and ensure Indian creators and companies secure a larger share of the IP and value generated domestically.

Charting a Path to Creative Ownership

India has already begun implementing measures to address this imbalance, with government support directed towards the AVGC-XR sector and video gaming. Initiatives like the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) underscore a growing recognition of the creative economy as a vital strategic economic asset.

To truly secure its creative future, India needs to focus on several key areas:

• Patient Capital: Invest in original intellectual property such as stories, characters, music, and gaming universes.
• Franchise Development: Cultivate these IPs into long-term franchises capable of generating exports.
• Cultural Depth: Leverage India’s unique cultural diversity and content in various Indian languages, which represents a rapidly growing segment of digital consumption.

Developing advanced capabilities through institutions like the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) will be crucial. By leveraging India’s expanding AI capabilities, robust cloud infrastructure, and sophisticated digital production ecosystem, local studios can create world-class content for global audiences.

Artificial intelligence is poised to amplify this opportunity by democratizing creative tools, making the originality of intellectual property the primary competitive advantage. Owning distinct Indian stories, characters, and cultural narratives will therefore become even more valuable in the evolving digital landscape.