India will fall below its 2% global M&E share if it does not embrace AI, warns I&B Secy Sanjay Jaju

New Delhi: India holds just 2% of the global media and entertainment industry, and that number could shrink further if the country does not urgently adopt artificial intelligence, Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, warned at the 12th CII Big Picture Summit on Thursday. 

Calling the current phase a “very important inflexion point”, Jaju said India’s creative economy is on the brink of a technological shift that will decisively separate those who adapt from those who fall behind.

“We have a rich heritage of storytelling/ There is so much potential, yet we hold only 2% of the global media and entertainment market. We need to introspect,” he said. 

He added, “And if we were at 2% before the AI age, it is scary to imagine where we might land in the post-AI age. AI is truly transformational… If we do not embrace this technology, our share may decline, and we cannot allow that.”

Jaju emphasised that the country’s global ambitions depend on its ability to build world-class, technologically advanced content capabilities. “If we are to be the third-largest economy, we must project soft power. Our stories must be seen and heard everywhere,” he said.

He warned that AI-driven creativity is accelerating at a pace the industry cannot afford to ignore. “Songs are being made on the fly. Videos are being generated through AI. It is difficult to fathom where it will stop.” The focus, he said, should shift from fear to competitiveness. 

‘There would be so much destruction to GDP’ if M&E did not exist

While the economic size of the sector is commonly placed at around Rs 3 lakh crore, Jaju urged the industry to look beyond topline figures and acknowledge its role as a stabilising force in society and a creator of nearly one crore livelihoods.

He noted that YouTube alone supports close to a million people, while “around 2–3 million people are trying to make a livelihood” from the creator economy more broadly. The film industry adds another 2-3 million, broadcasting “with about 1,000 channels” employs millions more, and OTT and associated technology sectors push the total to “one crore people in this country directly or indirectly connected to this sector”.

He argued that the industry’s contribution is not only economic but behavioural. “We may say its contribution to GDP is Rs 3 lakh crore, that is the number being touted. But believe me, if this industry were not there, there would be so much destruction to GDP, because what else would we do? Fight with each other? Beat each other? That is the cost of this industry,” Jaju stated. 

The I&B secretary noted that entertainment has historically been a core human need, observing that “across civilisations and millennia, four things have remained constant: food, shelter, grooming, and entertainment. These are the four elements that define human evolution.” 

Far from being dismissed as “song-dance-drama”, he argued that the sector “brings harmony. It connects people and connects countries.”

‘It is the business of business to do business, not the business of government’

Jaju stressed that while the government will continue enabling growth through policies, fiscal incentives, and skill-building initiatives, industry must take ownership of the M&E sector’s future.

“Ultimately, it is the business of business to do business, not the business of government,” he said. “Governments can only create an enabling environment, ensure a level playing field, and correct market failures through policies. We can bring fiscal incentives to prime the pump.”

As an example of a new collaborative model, he highlighted the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), which has been approved by the Union Cabinet. It is being set up at Film City, Mumbai, with regional schools planned across India, and already has a functioning temporary campus. 

Unlike traditional government institutions, IICT is majority-owned by industry bodies. Jaju noted, “CII and FICCI together own 52%, we own 34%, and the state government of Maharashtra owns 14%. This is a unique model, completely run by the industry.”

He acknowledged long-standing skill gaps in India’s post-production and emerging technology stack. “Some countries do post-production in one-third the time and with better quality,” he said, arguing that India must invest heavily in technical capability if it wants to compete globally.

A moment India ‘cannot escape’

Jaju concluded by framing the current phase as one the industry must confront with urgency, not hesitation. He reiterated that the Prime Minister views WAVES not as a three-day congregation but “a movement”, reminding the audience that “a wave should give rise to a new wave, because it starts from where the earlier wave ends.”

Positioning the present as a turning point for India’s creative economy, he said the sector now stands at the threshold of what the Prime Minister has called the dawn of India’s orange economy, an era driven by ideas, imagination, and cultural confidence. 

As he put it, “this dawn is about ideas and imagination”, and the industry must now channel that into global influence, with “the ability to convert our cultural strength into creative energy that can inspire the world.”