In March 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) announced a USD 1 billion fund to give boost to the creator economy, during high-level session on World Audio-Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) held at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, Chanakyapuri in New Delhi (Delhi).
- He also announced that the Government of India(GoI) has allocated Rs 391 crore for India’s 1st Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) which will be set up in Goregaon Film City, Mumbai (Maharashtra).
- The WAVES 2025 is scheduled to be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from May 1 to 4, 2025.
Key People:
- Union Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister (CM) of Maharashtra; Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Loganathan Murugan, MIB, among others were present at the event.
- The event also witnessed the participation of Ambassadors and High Commissioners of 100 countries.
About USD 1 billion fund:
i.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.
ii.The fund will be supported through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and its modalities will be released later.
iii.This move aims to empower digital content creators by providing them access to capital, skill development, and international market integration.
Key Points:
i.During the event, the MIB and Government of Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which aimed at bolstering collaboration in media, entertainment, and digital outreach.
ii.Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Sanjay Jaju, Secretary of MIB jointly host the Global Media Dialogue and Thought Leaders Track will host plenary sessions and panel discussions by industry leaders.
v.Union Minister announced that so far, ‘Create in India Challenge (CIC)’, a precursor to the WAVES, had received more than 25 lakh submissions and over 80,000 creators selected for the next level of the challenge.
- Among these 80,000 participants, only 1,000 will feature in the finals of various challenges that will be held during the WAVES summit.
About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB):
Union Minister- Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha – Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS)- Dr. Loganathan Murugan(Rajya Sabha- Madhya Pradesh, MP)
