In her annual Budget presentation today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman placed a major spotlight on India’s Orange Economy — a broad ecosystem encompassing creative and cultural industries such as media, entertainment, animation, visual effects, gaming and comics — heralding it as a future driver of jobs and innovation.

Central to the Indian government’s budgetary plan is the support for the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, which will lead the establishment of AVGC Content Creator Labs across the country. Funds have been provisioned to set up these labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges nationwide— part of a broader strategy to nurture creative talent at scale and strengthen India’s next-generation workforce for digital storytelling and media production.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a shining brand ambassador for India’s Orange Economy for quite some time now, emphasising that the country has the potential to be a global content hub. ‘Make in India for the world’ has been his mantra. Conceptualisation and execution of the inaugural World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit in Mumbai in 2025 — based on the PM’s vision — was one step towards making India a media and entertainment hub.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2026-27 in Parliament yesterday, Sitharaman outlined a suite of targeted initiatives and investments aimed at integrating creative content sectors into India’s larger economic growth agenda.

Sitharaman described the Orange Economy as an emerging engine of employment and urban services that derives value primarily from ideas, artistic expression and cultural capital rather than physical goods. Noting the rapid expansion of India’s animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector, she underscored projections that the industry will require about two million professionals by 2030, reinforcing the case for skilling and infrastructure support.

Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, while addressing the media yesterday after the Budget-related activities in parliament, noted that Prime Minister Modi had placed India’s creative economy on the global stage through WAVES, adding that the IICT Mumbai, established on the lines of Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management, will connect with schools and colleges through Creators’ Labs, creating 20 lakh new jobs.

The Economic Survey, an economic health status of the country that was released last week, also noted that India’s media and entertainment sector has emerged as a major pillar of the services economy, covering audio-visual production, broadcasting, digital content, animation, gaming, advertising and live entertainment.

Over the past decade, the sector has shifted strongly towards digital and platform-based delivery, transforming revenue models, employment and value chains. Estimated at around Rs. 2.5 trillion in 2024, growth is driven by rising incomes, internet penetration, OTT expansion and AI-led innovation.

Budgetary Support for MIB, Prasar Bharati: The 2026-27 Budget earmarked Rs. 4,551.94 crore for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), outlining sustained governmental support for public broadcasting, media infrastructure and communication outreach in the coming fiscal year. The allocation represents a strategic consolidation in the ministry’s funding after elevated spending in 2025-26, with key focus areas spanning public communication campaigns, talent development and digital broadcasting initiatives, the government stated.

However, in absolute terms, the 2026-27 allocation for MIB marks a reduction when compared with the revised estimates for 2025-26, which stood at approximately Rs. 6,103 crore.

Meanwhile, India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati was allocated Rs. 2,291.88 crore as part of overall MIB’s budgetary allocations.

The funds are mainly for expenses of Prasar Bharati such as salaries, pensions and other operational costs relating to its broadcasting services, Doordarshan and All India Radio.