Top policymakers to take center stage at Storyboard18’s Digital Entertainment Summit 2025

With the world's largest digital population and a media economy evolving at warp speed, India is asserting itself as a global force in the digital entertainment revolution. The Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit (DES), scheduled for June 27 at The Leela Palace in New Delhi, signals and celebrates this transformation. Backed by Network18 Group - with flagship platforms like CNBC-TV18, CNN-News18, Moneycontrol, and Forbes India - the summit comes at a time when the global digital power structure is being redefined, and India is in pole position.

Set against the backdrop of the government's landmark World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), DES 2025 aims to spotlight policy innovations, new frontiers in gaming, and the tech ecosystem's next growth wave. The event is expected to unpack India's strategy for leading the digital entertainment economy, with top policymakers outlining how talent, technology, and governance will fuel future-ready growth.

Powering India's Next Entertainment Boom

India's digital momentum is backed by numbers. The country's gaming market alone clocked $3.8 billion in FY24 — a 23% YoY surge. Artificial intelligence, emerging tech, and digital skilling are converging to create an ecosystem ripe for innovation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for advancing the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) sector has already catalysed this surge.

At DES 2025, top policymakers will come together to chart the next course for India's entertainment and creative economy - especially in gaming, monetization, regulation, and skilling.

Jayant Chaudhary

Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Jayant Chaudhary will be a key voice at the summit. A third-generation politician and a modern reformer, Chaudhary has transitioned from farmer advocacy to shaping India's youth and startup-focused policy frameworks. With degrees from Delhi University and London School of Economics, his global perspective and grassroots grounding position him uniquely to scale India's talent pipeline for the entertainment and gaming sectors.

Chaudhary's ministry is a cornerstone for enabling India's creative and digital workforce - one that the summit will position as central to the next phase of the global media economy.

Jayesh Ranjan

Another pivotal speaker, Jayesh Ranjan, serves as Principal Secretary, I&C and IT Departments, Telangana Government. An IAS topper of the 1992 batch, Ranjan has been instrumental in transforming Telangana into a tech-forward state. With educational stints at IIM Calcutta, LSE, Harvard, and the National University of Singapore, his career blends governance and global insight.

Ranjan's efforts have made Hyderabad a magnet for AVGC investments and innovation. His leadership in setting up frameworks for industrial growth, startup incubation, and digital empowerment reflects the scale of opportunity that states like Telangana can unlock through policy alignment and tech adoption.

Abhishek Singh

Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and CEO of the India AI Mission, joins the line-up of impact-makers and influential voices at DES 2025.

A 1995 batch IAS officer and IIT Kanpur graduate with further credentials from Harvard Kennedy School, Singh brings a technology-first, people-centric approach to policy.

Singh has led transformative initiatives through roles at Digital India Corporation, MyGov, and National e-Governance Division. His current focus areas - Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital skilling - are at the heart of India's tech-forward entertainment landscape. Under his watch, the India AI Mission is laying the groundwork for responsible AI innovation.

Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu

Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, born in 1983, is a second-time MP known for his sharp focus on education, innovation, and development. An alumnus of La Trobe University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied media, Devarayalu brings academic and international perspective to the evolving digital ecosystem.

He began his parliamentary journey in 2019 with the YSR Congress Party and later made a strategic shift, winning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His new political role positions him as a key advocate for regional and national digital growth.

Outside Parliament, Devarayalu serves as the Vice Chairman of the Vignan Group of Institutions, a Guntur-based educational powerhouse with a student base of over 45,000 across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Dr. M.C. Sarangan

Dr. M.C. Sarangan, a recipient of the prestigious President's Police Medal for distinguished and meritorious service, has seamlessly transitioned from law enforcement to policymaking in the digital realm.

He currently serves as the member of the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA), where he plays a key role in framing guidelines and preventive measures around online gaming addiction, especially among students and young users.

The Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit will not only bring together government officials and policy thinkers, but also industry leaders, gaming innovators, and content creators. As India moves from being the world's largest consumer of digital content to one of its most influential creators, forums like DES are central to shaping policy, strategy, and collaboration.

READ MORE: DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT

See more: Digital Entertainment Summit 2025 to debut in Delhi as India stakes its claim on the future of global media