Exim Bank said the first-of-its-kind study “Reflecting and Developing India’s Creative Economy” analyzed seven different creative segments such as arts and crafts, audio-visual, design, visual arts, among others, according to the United Nations classification, to map the export potential. .
India’s total exports of creative goods and services amounted to nearly $121 billion in 2019, of which creative services exports accounted for nearly $100 billion, Exim Bank said citing the research paper.
“In India, the contribution of the design segment was 87.5% of the total creative goods exports in 2019, and another 9% is contributed by the arts and crafts segment.”
Furthermore, in the Indian context, the creative goods industry has a trade surplus of $16 billion, according to the paper published by Padma Vibhushan Dr. Sonal Mansingh.
The Exim Bank said the creative economy is vastly diversified in the country and industries such as cinema provide a major boost to the creative economy.
India ranks 6th in the world, outside of the United States, when it comes to top international box office markets in terms of revenue.
According to the study, technology plays a vital role in human creativity, knowledge, intellectual property, among others, in this evolving field. The study also captures the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning, extended reality and blockchain, which impact how the creative economy works.
Exim Bank provided various recommendations to promote the creative economy in India through the document, including defining and mapping creative industries in India, funds to finance creative industries, focusing on joint programs, addressing the copyright issue, promoting MSMEs and local artisans, establishing creative neighborhoods and hubs and forming a specialized institution for creative industries.
It also analyzes the creative economy policies of countries such as the UK, Australia, France, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, where the creative economy has found significant prominence, with dedicated ministries or institutions.
“While India has made strides in industries associated with the creative economy, the country has significant scope to increase the value of its creative economy. India Exim Bank in its study suggests developing a single definition of the creative economy in the country, while having a dedicated institution, which could explore its untapped potential,” the statement said.
