New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The ‘Waves 2025’ event this year witnessed participation from over 90 countries, with more than 10,000 delegates, 1,000 creators, over 300 companies, over 350 startups and an overall footfall of approximately 1 lakh attendees — spanning diverse sectors including broadcasting, infotainment, AVGC-XR, films and digital media, the government said on Wednesday.
This year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting carried out many important initiatives to support India’s media and entertainment sector.
The biggest among them was ‘WAVES 2025’, the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing WAVES not just as an event, but as a “wave of culture, creativity and universal connectivity”.
PM Modi also emphasised India’s vision of “Create in India, Create for the World,” inviting global investors and youth to engage with India’s expansive creative ecosystem.
According to the ministry, CreatoSphere is an immersive hub of innovation that places creators at the centre, transforming ideas into experiences across film, VFX, VR, animation, gaming, comics, music, broadcasting, and digital media.
It brought together leading creative minds from India and abroad to foster dialogue, partnerships, innovation, and global showcasing of talent.
Also, CIC Season-I emerged as “India’s largest creative talent movement” and achieved unprecedented global reach.
Season-I featured 33 categories, attracted over 1 lakh entries from across India and more than 60 countries, and showcased over 750 finalists across eight creative zones at WAVES, establishing India’s largest creator-led challenge platform, the ministry further stated.
PM Modi interacted directly with young creators, experienced winning innovations, and highlighted India’s potential as a global content hub.
The culmination of the season also saw over 150 creators being recognised by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at WAVES Creator Awards, underscoring the government’s focus on nurturing India’s creative economy.
Notably, ‘WaveX’ aims to support and engage over 200 startups as part of its initiative to strengthen the innovation and startup ecosystem. It enabled more than 30 startups to pitch to global industry leaders such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Lumikai, while nearly 100 startups showcased solutions through exhibition booths.
Between August and November 2025, ‘WAVES Bazaar’ undertook an extensive outreach programme covering 12 major international events across four continents and four key domestic industry events. About Rs 4,334 crore in potential business and investment discussions were generated.
—IANS
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