Creative India: tapping the full potential

India’s creative economy is large, but its untapped potential is even larger. The report provide the first reliable measure on the size of India’s creative economy, explore the many challenges faced by the creative industries, and provide recommendations to make India one of the most creative societies in the world. India’s creative economy measured by the number of people working in various creative occupations is estimated to contribute nearly 8% of the country’s employment, much higher than the corresponding share in Turkey (1%), Turkey (1%), Mexico (1.5%), the Republic of Korea (1.9%), and even Australia (2.1%). Creative occupations also pay reasonably well 88% higher than the non-creative ones and contribute about 20% to nation’s overall GVA. Out of the top 10 creative districts in India, 6 are non-metros- Badgam, Panipat (Haryana), Imphal (Manipur), Sant Ravi Das Nagar (Uttar Pradesh), Thane (Maharashtra), and Tirupar (Tamil Nadu) indicating the diversity and depth of creativity across India. Yet, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, India’s creative exports are only one-tenth of those of the People’s Republic of China.