Mumbai, May 01: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated WAVES 2025, the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, marking a milestone in India’s cultural and creative journey. With over 10,000 delegates and representatives from more than 90 countries, the four-day summit aims to position India as a global powerhouse in media, entertainment, and digital innovation.
Addressing the international gathering, PM Modi remarked, “WAVES is not merely an acronym—it is a wave of culture, creativity, and universal connectivity.” He hailed the summit as a platform uniting filmmakers, musicians, animators, and content creators from across the world, celebrating India’s artistic heritage and future potential.
The event coincided with Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Statehood Day, with the Prime Minister extending greetings and honoring India’s deep cultural roots. Recalling the release of India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra on May 3, 1913, PM Modi paid tribute to cinematic legends like Dadasaheb Phalke, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Ritwik Ghatak, A.R. Rahman, and S.S. Rajamouli, noting their global contributions.
“India, with a billion-plus population, is also a land of a billion-plus stories,” said the Prime Minister, calling on the global creative community to engage with India’s storytelling traditions. “This is the right time to Create in India, Create for the World,” he asserted.
He described WAVES 2025 as a “roaring success from the first moment,” highlighting initiatives like the Creators Challenge and Creatosphere, which drew over 100,000 entries from 60 countries. He congratulated the 800 selected finalists, encouraging them to showcase their talent on a global stage.
The Prime Minister also visited the Bharat Pavilion, praised the WAVES Bazaar e-marketplace connecting over 6,100 buyers and 5,200 sellers, and emphasized the significance of India’s storytelling legacy—from folk traditions to classical drama. “Every street has a story, every mountain carries a song, every river hums a tune,” he said, underscoring the diversity of India’s cultural landscape.
PM Modi declared that India is witnessing the “dawn of the Orange Economy”—an economy rooted in Content, Creativity, and Culture. He noted that Indian content now reaches over 100 countries and highlighted the tenfold growth in India’s OTT industry. “Screen size may be getting smaller, but the scope is becoming infinite,” he observed. “The screen is getting micro, but the message is becoming mega.”
He also linked WAVES to India’s broader global ambitions, referencing the success of People’s Padma awards and calling WAVES a similar platform to spotlight talent from remote and rural India. He emphasized cultural inclusivity and India’s history of embracing diversity, citing the integration of Parsis and Jews into the Indian social fabric as examples of civilizational openness.
Reinforcing India’s spiritual connection to art, PM Modi invoked the idea of Naad Brahma, calling music and sound divine. “Lord Shiva’s Damru, Goddess Saraswati’s Veena, Lord Krishna’s Flute—each symbol represents music’s sacred role in Indian culture,” he said.
He urged global creators to dream big and tell their stories, investors to invest in people as well as platforms, and Indian youth to bring their “one billion untold stories” to the world.
The Prime Minister also stressed Creative Responsibility in the era of AI and digital media. “Technology must enhance sensitivity, not replace it. Our goal is not to create robots, but sensitive individuals who enrich human experience,” he stated, calling on creatives to defend cultural integrity and resist divisive ideologies.
WAVES 2025 also features the first-ever Global Media Dialogue with ministerial participation from 25 nations. With over 42 plenary sessions, 39 breakouts, and 32 masterclasses covering film, AVGC-XR, gaming, digital media, and broadcasting, the summit aims to unlock a $50 billion creative economy by 2029.
“India is becoming a global hub for film production, digital content, gaming, fashion, music, and live concerts,” said PM Modi, noting that the global animation market—currently valued at over $430 billion—is a key opportunity for Indian creators.
He concluded with a resounding call: “To the creators of the world — dream big and tell your story. To investors — invest not just in platforms, but in people. To Indian youth — tell your one billion untold stories to the world.”
The event was attended by Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dr. L. Murugan, and other eminent personalities from the creative and political spectrum.
Background on WAVES 2025:
With the tagline “Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries”, WAVES 2025 is a pioneering summit that unites creators, startups, and industry leaders to shape the future of media and entertainment. It aims to project India as a global content powerhouse through sectors such as AI, AVGC-XR, gaming, OTT, comics, and digital storytelling.
The summit also includes the WAVES Bazaar, a cross-border digital marketplace, and hosts over 1,000 creators, 300+ companies, and 350+ startups, making it a landmark event in the evolution of India’s cultural economy.
