Orange Economy or Creative Economy

GS 3 – ECONOMY

Context:

The PM recently inaugurated WAVES 2025 (World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit), highlighting the importance of the creative economy.

About the Creative Economy:

The “orange economy” refers to industries that leverage creativity, knowledge, and intellectual property (IP) to generate value. This includes sectors such as film, music, art, design, OTT platforms, architecture, and publishing. The creative economy thrives on innovation, the protection of intellectual property rights, digital platforms like streaming services, and cultural exports such as Bollywood, yoga, and Indian cuisine, which enhance global influence.

Global Efforts towards the Creative Economy:

• 2021 – UN International Year of Creative Economy: The UN recognized 2021 as the International Year of Creative Economy, emphasizing its role in generating jobs, trade, and contributing to sustainable development.
• UNCTAD Creative Economy Programme: This program promotes creativity as a tool for inclusive growth and releases the Creative Economy Outlook.
• UNESCO Creative Cities Network (2004): This network connects cities that use creativity for sustainable development, such as Jaipur (crafts) and Chennai (music).
• World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO): WIPO works to protect intellectual property rights, helping creators monetize their innovations on a global scale.

India’s Efforts towards the Creative Economy:

• Creative Economy Fund: India has established a $1 billion fund to invest in creative industries like film, music, animation, and digital content, boosting innovation and infrastructure.
• National Mission on Cultural Mapping: This initiative maps India’s cultural heritage to promote creative industries.
• National Creators Award: This award recognizes digital content creators, fostering creativity and innovation online.
• All India Initiative on Creative Economy (AIICE): AIICE is a forum where India’s creative industries collaborate on matters related to the creative economy.
• Increased Participation of OTT Platforms and Private Companies: India’s growing OTT platforms and private companies are supporting the expansion of homegrown content and the country’s creative influence.

Economic Contribution of India’s Creative Economy:

• M&E Sector Value (2024): The Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector in India is valued at ₹2.5 lakh crore (~$29.4B), with projections to reach $50B by 2029.
• Growth Rate: The sector is expected to grow at 7.2% in 2025.
• Digital Media Share: Digital media contributes 32% of total M&E revenue.
• Employment: The sector generates millions of jobs in fields like film, music, design, gaming, crafts, and digital content.
• YouTube Payouts: Indian creators have received ₹21,000 crore in payouts over the last 3 years.

Challenges in the Creative Economy:

Despite its growth, the creative economy faces challenges, including:

• Intellectual property issues.
• Inadequate infrastructure and skill gaps.
• Limited funding.
• Regulatory barriers and censorship.
• Global competition and fragmented market access.
• Evolving consumer preferences, cultural, and gender stereotypes.
• Sustainability concerns.