📰Deep Dive: $1 Billion for Creators

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Welcome to the best way to stay up-to-date on India’s financial markets. Today, we investigate Modi’s $1 billion investment in to social media creators.

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Market Update.

$1 Billion for Social Media Creators.

India’s government announced a $1 billion (₹87 billion) fund to support social media creators. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that this fund will empower creators to enhance their production quality and expand their international presence.

Why this matters: The establishment of this fund and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) marks a major step toward India's transformation into a global hub for media, entertainment, and digital content. With the rapid evolution of AI, animation, and gaming, India is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this digital revolution. The country already boasts a massive pool of young, tech-savvy talent, and these initiatives will further enable them to compete on the global stage.  

India's media and entertainment industry is expected to reach $73.6 billion (₹6.4 trillion) by 2027, growing by 9.5 percent annually. The investment in IICT and the content creator economy directly supports this expansion by fostering innovation, providing necessary infrastructure, and making India more attractive for foreign investors looking to tap into the country’s creative sector.  

How people can invest in this growth: India’s creator economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world, driven by increasing internet penetration (over 850 million users), widespread smartphone usage, and the popularity of social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and local alternatives such as Moj and Josh. With the government’s push to build a structured ecosystem for digital creators, India presents a lucrative opportunity for foreign investors in several ways:  

• India is home to the world’s largest youth population, with Gen Z and millennials making up 65 percent of the total population.

• The international success of Indian films, OTT content, and music (like RRR, Sacred Games, and Bollywood’s presence in global festivals) has demonstrated the increasing demand for Indian storytelling worldwide. Investors can leverage this demand through co-productions, IP acquisitions, and content partnerships.  

• India's PLI, lower operational costs, and digital infrastructure improvements provide a cost-effective yet high-quality alternative to Western markets.  

IICT explained. The $45 million (₹3.9 billion) allocated to establish the IICT will create a specialized hub for VFX, animation, gaming, and AI-driven content creation. Maharashtra CM Fadnavis emphasized that post-production, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of total film production costs, will be a key focus area. By setting up this institute, India aims to reduce reliance on foreign studios and build its own state-of-the-art capabilities similar to Hollywood's leading VFX studios. 

Global marketing opportunity: The upcoming World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), scheduled from May 1 to 4 at Mumbai's Jio Centre, will serve as a global meeting point for media investors, creators, and industry leaders. The summit will showcase India’s potential as a content powerhouse, facilitating deals between Indian and international companies.  

Foreign Minister Jaishankar highlighted the importance of diverse narratives in global storytelling, emphasizing that India's rise in the media sector will contribute to a more inclusive global entertainment landscape. That’s right, even the foreign minister weighed in on the importance of the creator market, emphasizing the importance of this spending bill for Modi’s agenda.

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Gupshup.

Macro

• Gold rises above $3,000/oz (₹261,000) for the first time in a historical rally. US economic uncertainty has led to retail investors buying gold as a safe hedge. Institutions like banks and central banks have also been buying gold up in droves to remove exposure to US securities and dollars.  

Equities

• VW is investing in EV manufacturing while fighting a $1.4 billion (₹121.8 billion) tax demand. VW’s local unit owes the sum in tax back pay for falsifying luxury car imports. At the same time, they still want to keep investing in the Indian car market, which is poised to become the third-largest in the world.

• Infosys is settling US lawsuits against hacking activity for $17.5 million (₹1.5 billion). 6.5 million individuals had data exfiltration and crucial information leaks.   

• Wipro is redrawing global business lines to address client needs better. Wipro is consolidating all cloud, data, analytics, and AI under its tech services business line. This is to help sharpen consulting-led and AI-powered solutions.  

Alts

• Russian aluminum giant Rusal is buying a 50 percent stake in an alumina refinery owner, Pioneer. The company will acquire its stake in Pioneer in stages, with the first being a 26 percent purchase for $243.8 million (₹21.2 billion). The aim for Rusal is to be less reliant on third-party raw materials. Alumina is a key ingredient for aluminum production.  

• Blackstone is buying a 40 percent stake in Kolte-Patil Developers for $134 million (Rs.11.7 billion) for preferred shares.The offer includes rights to purchase another 26 percent to increase its total stake to 66 percent. 

Policy

• Tamil Nadu is going to start subsidizing e-scooter purchases for gig workers. The state is going to offer $230 (₹20,000) for gig and delivery workers to afford e-scooters. This is a bid to help young people find types of employment while also limiting pollution impact from having more vehicles. 

• BJP alleges a $114.9 million (Rs.10 billion) liquor scam in Tamil Nadu. There are raids going on regarding liquor-supplying companies and bribes alleged to the scam amount.  

See you Monday.

Written by Yash Tibrewal. Edited by Shreyas Sinha.

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.