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New Pathways for India’s Creative Economy
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Context
A recent article by Balakrishna Pisupati, Country Head of UNEP India, highlights the urgent need for India to recalibrate its innovation ecosystem by investing in grassroots creativity. As the global creative economy grows rapidly, India must bridge the gap between raw creativity and scalable innovation to harness economic and social value, especially at the grassroots level.
The Global and Indian Creative Economy: Emerging Trends
- Global Creative Economy Expansion: According to UNCTAD’s Creative Economy Outlook 2024, global creative services exports hit USD 4 trillion in 2022, with creative goods reachingUSD713 billion, together supporting 50 million jobs worldwide.
- India’s Contribution: India’s creative economy exports stood at USD 121 billion in 2019, led by creative services (USD 100 billion). As of 2024, the industry is valued at USD 30 billion, employing around 8% of the workforce, with a 20% export growth recorded in the past year.
- Sectoral Leaders: The top three contributors to the global creative economy are software services (41.3%), R&D (30.7%), and advertising, market research & architecture (15.5%).
Creativity vs Innovation: Addressing the Gap in India
- Creativity Types and Local Innovation: Creativity can be deliberate or spontaneous, and either cognitive or emotional. Grassroots innovations in India often fall into deliberate-cognitive or spontaneous-cognitive types but remain underdeveloped due to lack of systemic support.
- Innovation Requires Institutional Support: While creativity is often individual-based, innovation demands institutional investment. India shows rich creativity, but many ideas (like the mitti cool fridge or pedal washing machine) lack scale or protection.
- Role of Institutions and Networks: Organizations like GIAN (Grassroot Innovations Augmentation Network) have recognized and promoted hundreds of grassroots innovations, but further scaling requires formal IPR protection and targeted capital investments.
Rethinking Investment: Scaling Creativity into Innovation
- Creative Ecosystem Investment Gaps: Despite climate tech attracting USD85 billion in 2023, investments in grassroots creativity are negligible. Small redirection of this capital could significantly enhance local climate resilience and innovation.
- Policy Innovation – One District One Innovation: Replicating the successful One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, the government should launch a One District One Innovation (ODOI) programme to stimulate decentralized creativity and job creation.
- Protection and Commercialization: India’s IPR framework must evolve to protect informal innovations and indigenous creativity. Only through legal, financial, and infrastructural support can creative ideas become commercially viable innovations.
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