New pathways for India’s creative economy Premium

India still needs to explore ways of being more creative and innovative to take economic gains to new horizons, especially at the grass-root level

Few countries have a unique history of innovations and creativity that changed the world. Yet, India’s tryst with creativity and innovation ranges from the arts to science, from metallurgy to medicine, from astronomy and much more. As India works towards becoming a $5 trillion economy, it needs to rejig its approach to innovations, supported by creativity at all levels.

Globally, in 2022, exports of creative services surged to $1.4 trillion, marking a 29% increase since 2017. Creative goods exports also experienced a 19% rise, reaching $713 billion. Collectively, the creative economy generates annual revenues exceeding $2 trillion and supports nearly 50 million jobs worldwide.

According to the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report on the creative economy, Creative Economy Outlook 2024, three sectors are the main contributors of the creative economy (2022): software services (41.3%), research and development (30.7%), advertising, market research and architecture (15.5%).

India’s creative economy has also demonstrated significant contributions. In 2019, creative goods and services exports totalled about $121 billion, with creative services accounting for nearly $100 billion. The design segment alone represented 87.5% of creative goods exports, while arts and crafts contributed around 9%.

As of 2024, India’s creative industry is valued at $30 billion and employs about 8% of the country’s working population. Creative exports grew by 20% in the previous year, generating more than $11 billion.

While investments into traditional creative economic sectors are booming in a country such as India, we still need to explore ways of being more creative and innovative to take the economic gains to new horizons, especially at the grass-root levels. This will ensure that such creations and innovations help local people. This will be a disruptive approach to promoting local economies.

Research has shown that creativity can be segmented into four types: deliberate and emotional; deliberate and cognitive; spontaneous and emotional, and spontaneous and cognitive. Creativity can be endogenous — triggered by one’s own thoughts or imagination or exogenous — that is externally induced. It can be manifested concurrently or only episodically such as in crises or extreme climate events.