Creative Economy Forum-2025: Entrepreneurs, policymakers, and innovators discuss ways to achieve ‘Creative Bharat’

The Creative Economy Forum continues to position itself as a dynamic platform where art meets enterprise. As India’s creative industries expand their global footprint, the discussions and collaborations at CEF 2025 aim to accelerate investment, innovation, and international partnerships that will define the next decade of Creative Bharat

The third edition of the Creative Economy Forum (CEF), which was held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Janpath, New Delhi, brought together India’s leading creative minds, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and innovators to chart the course for “Creative Bharat” -a vision of economic growth powered by culture, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The two-day event which started on Friday concluded on Saturday.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Tourism, and the AI Impact Summit (an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), the event served as a flagship platform celebrating and advancing India’s creative and cultural industries. With IGNCA as the venue partner, CEF 2025 featured high-level dialogues, keynotes, and spotlight sessions exploring intersections of film, fashion, art, design, technology, and policy.

This year’s edition, themed “Building Creative Bharat,” highlighted how creativity, business, and policy converge to drive India’s growth story.

CEF Founder and film director-producer Supriya Suri said the forum was built on the three pillars of policy, business, and creativity, and aims to underscore the immense commercial and cultural potential of India’s creative sector. “Through CEF, we aim to highlight the business of creativity, helping people recognize its infinite potential and India’s growing influence as a global hub for the creative economy,” she said.

Echoing this sentiment, actor, producer, and entrepreneur Harman Baweja noted that India’s creative sector is on the cusp of exponential growth. “The journey of creative entrepreneurs today mirrors that of startups — we’re seeing creators build intellectual properties with real commercial value. The Creative Economy Forum is the perfect stage to share, learn, and collaborate on this new wave of creative entrepreneurship,” he said.

Adding a corporate perspective, Avarna Jain, Chairperson of RPSG Group, described India’s creative economy as a “force multiplier” for innovation, cultural diplomacy, and job creation. “Platforms like CEF enable meaningful dialogues that drive both recognition and investment into the creative industries,” she added.

This year’s forum featured an impressive lineup of leaders and pioneers from across industries, including Sanjeev Sanyal from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister; Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA; Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV; Sanjay Nigam, Founder of the Fashion Entrepreneur Fund; Amish Tripathi, author and broadcaster; Dr. Anurag Batra, Editor-in-Chief of Businessworld; ShefaleeVasudev, Editor-in-Chief of The Voice of Fashion; Rina Dhaka, fashion designer; Charuvi Agrawal, Founder of Charuvi Design Labs.

International voices such as Gayle McPherson and Marie McPartlin, Director of Somerset House Studios, UK, also participated, bringing a global perspective to India’s growing creative landscape.

The Creative Economy Forum 2025 presented a series of thought-provoking sessions featuring leading voices from across India’s creative landscape. “The Road to IPO for India’s Creative Businesses” with Harman Baweja and “Creative Capital: Investing in India’s Design Future” with Sanjay Nigam explored how creative ventures can scale and attract investment.

“Aap Ki Adalat: The Journey of India’s Iconic Non-Fiction IP” with Rajat Sharma revisited the success story of India’s landmark talk show, while “Building Trust in Creative Bharat: Rights, Reputation & Recognition” featured Justice Tej Karia of the Delhi High Court, addressing issues of rights and recognition.

Sessions like “Crafting Commerce” with Rina Dhaka, Charu Shankar, and Shefalee Vasudev, and “Pop Culture Merch & Building Indian Labubu Dolls” with Nitesh Rohit, and Charuvi Agrawal, moderated by Aleena Qureshi, highlighted the growing intersection of creativity and business.

Meanwhile, “Cinema Theatre Economics” with Akshay Rathie and Deepak Kumar Sharma, moderated by Uday Pratap Singh, examined the evolving film exhibition industry. The forum concluded with “Empowering the Creative Economy: AI in Action,” showcasing innovators driving India’s creative tech and AI ecosystem forward.

The Creative Economy Forum continues to position itself as a dynamic platform where art meets enterprise. As India’s creative industries expand their global footprint, the discussions and collaborations at CEF 2025 aim to accelerate investment, innovation, and international partnerships that will define the next decade of Creative Bharat.