'If we don't become part of this, if we don't embrace this particular technology, millionaire brands might go down, which we cannot allow.'
As India is set to see artificial intelligence-powered films on the silver screens next year, with some streaming platforms already releasing AI-generated series, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said that the media and entertainment segment is going to be "hugely disrupted" in the coming years, in terms of content, production, scale, and talent & skill.
"We were at 2 per cent (India's share of the global industry) before the AI age.
"It's a little scary to imagine where we would be in the post-AI age (with increasing use of AI in the industry).
"AI is truly a transformational force. I cannot imagine where it is headed, and one segment that is going to be hugely disrupted is going to be the media and entertainment segment.
"There are songs being made on the fly.
"There are videos being generated out of AI, and it's very difficult to imagine and fathom where it is going to end and stop.
"If we (India) don't become part of this, if we don't embrace this particular technology, millionaire brands that are present here might go down, which we cannot allow," Jaju told the CII Big Picture Summit 2025.
With the growing prominence of AI, Jaju said the industry and the government are working to address the skill gap, for which the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) has been established.
"Like IIT is for technology, and IIM is for management, IICT will provide an intersection of technology and creativity. Multiple states have asked for IICT to be present there," he said.
In a separate interaction with the media, Jaju said that the government's aim is to increase this contribution to at least 5 per cent of the global media and entertainment space.
This comes at a time when India's media and entertainment industry is valued at around $30 billion, and has the potential to reach $100 billion by 2030, according to the white paper Reimagining India's M&E Sector: A Call for Action to Build a Future-Ready, Globally Competitive Industry by 2030.
Globally, the industry is set to touch $3.5 trillion in revenue by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7 per cent from 2024.
The white paper further stated that emerging markets, particularly in Asia, are expected to drive this growth.
Additionally, India's media and entertainment industry is expected to grow 2.6 times faster than the global market at a CAGR of 9.8 per cent.
Gaurav Banerjee, managing director and chief executive officer, Sony Pictures Networks India, highlighted that AI has the potential to reshape workflows and improve efficiency, scale, and speed.
"AI will not define creativity. Human imagination will. India's natural strength lies in its people, not its tools," said Banerjee.
India needs to create the "Indian Premier League of creativity" to be able to push India's content on a global stage, Banerjee added.
"When we look at global creative economies, one pattern is clear, the countries that lead have invested deeply in specialised creative-arts education.
"The US has dozens of globally recognised film, design, and media schools; China, with more than 3,000 higher-education institutions, has rapidly expanded its animation, gaming, and digital-arts programmes over the last decade.
"India, too, has made progress. Today, we have more film, design, and media programmes than we did ten years ago.
"But as our ambitions grow, our capacity must grow even faster," he added.
Meanwhile, Gunjan Soni, country MD, YouTube India, said that over 100 million channels uploaded a video on YouTube last year, signifying that the boundaries between the creator and the consumer are blurring fast, and with AI making creation easier, this will only accelerate.
"AI is a powerful enhancer. Tools like auto-dubbing and AI editing are helping creators reach global audiences.
"Technology and storytelling are converging to create global, interactive experiences," she noted.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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