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A $1 billion fund is being created to boost the India creators' economy, said Ashwini Vaishnaw Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Railways & MeitY at Global Media Dialogue ahead of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES). 

The dialogue took place on March 13, 2025, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, to encourage participation from various governments before the WAVES Declaration in Mumbai on May 2, 2025.

The event also saw the participation from Sanjay Jaju, Secretary of the MIB, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting & Parliamentary Affairs Dr. L. Murugan, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis. Over 100 ambassadors and high commissioners also attended to explore opportunities for global synergy in the M&E sector.

In his keynote speech, Union Minister Vaishnaw announced that a $1 billion fund will be created for the creators' economy. This fund will be dedicated to ensuring that the energetic creators, who are using the latest technologies today, will be able to access capital, hone their skills, upgrade their production levels, and reach the global market. The Union Minister also clarified that the Global Media Dialogue will not focus on regulation but will serve as a platform for exchanging views and sharing perspectives.


Speaking on Cabinet approving the establishment of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), similar to IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS —Vaishnaw said that IICT will be established in Film City, Goregaon Mumbai, and to establish IICT, Rs 391 crore has already been sanctioned.


"Mumbai is not just the financial capital but also the entertainment capital of India. This global platform (WAVES), being hosted here, will highlight Mumbai as the creative and entertainment hub and will position Maharashtra and Mumbai as global brands. This platform will play a vital role in making India a leader in the creative economy. The summit will also coincide with Maharashtra Day. We are confident that this summit will bring together creative minds from around the world, including those from technology and entertainment," CM Fadnavis said.


Speaking on the overwhelming response to the Create In India Challenge, a precursor to the WAVES, Vaishnaw shared that over 25 lakh submissions were received, more than 80000 creators participated and out of which only 1000 will be selected. "...so, it is a democratic online process. The vision behind this initiative, as stated by the Prime Minister, is to bring together the creative world and modern technological usage to create unique content," he said. The Minister also highlighted that over 100 countries are participating in it and it is a confluence of tech, media and entertainment. "Technology will serve as the base for this (WAVES) platform, bringing creators together from diverse fields," he added.

The advisory body of WAVES includes members (over 34) from the media and entertainment industry to guide the entire journey, ensuring practical planning and execution.

When asked about the initiative's impact on India's soft power, the Minister added that the event would project India’s rich cultural heritage and storytelling traditions. WAVES will emphasise audio-visual entertainment and creative storytelling rather than media regulation. "The event aims to celebrate and showcase the creative industry, reinforcing India’s cultural identity on a global stage," it was concluded.



BREAKING: Ashwini Vaishnaw announces $1 billion fund to boost creators' economy

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued a notice to Chrome Data Analytics and Media (CDAM) for allegedly releasing and commercially utilizing rating data for TV channels without being registered as a rating agency.

In the said notice, MIB has pointed out that all rating agencies must be registered with the Ministry as per the 'Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India,' issued on January 16, 2014. These guidelines specify the necessary requirements for audience measurement, sample selection, data analysis, disclosure norms, grievance redressal, and reporting.

However, Chrome Data Analytics and Media is reportedly operating as a rating agency without proper registration, which appears to be a violation of the guidelines. Consequently, the agency has been directed to refrain from any commercial utilization of rating data for TV channels.

The company can also choose to apply for registration as a rating agency by fulfilling the prerequisites mentioned in the guidelines. 

“The application should include a comprehensive report detailing the methodology employed by the agency for sample selection, data analysis, and reporting viewership for TV channels,” the notice said. 
MIB has given Chrome Data Analytics and Media fifteen days to respond, either by complying with the directions or providing a detailed explanation if they believe the provisions of the TRP Policy guidelines are not being violated by the company.

In accordance with the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India, all rating agencies, including the existing ones, are mandated to seek registration from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting based on the terms and conditions outlined in these guidelines.

The eligibility criteria for registration require the applicant to be a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, and to disclose all Shareholders Agreements, Loan Agreements, and other Agreements at the time of application, with subsequent changes to be reported within 15 days. The company's Memorandum of Association (MoA) must specify rating services or market research as a primary objective and must not include conflicting activities such as consultancy or advisory roles.
 
Additionally, none of the Board of Directors' members should be involved in broadcasting, advertising, or advertising agency businesses, and the company must maintain a minimum net worth of Rs 20 crores, certified by the Statutory Auditor. Complying with these registration requirements ensures transparency, credibility, and fair practices in the television rating industry in India.

At the moment Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India is the only joint industry body founded by stakeholder bodies that represent broadcasters, advertisers, and advertising and media agencies that is authorized to publish ratings related data.

So is Chrome Data Analytics and Media competing with BARC?

In an earlier chat with Storyboard18, Pankaj Krishna, founder and CEO of Chrome Data Analytics and Media said, “For the past 15 years, our focus has been on measuring the distribution of cable and satellite channels rather than viewership data. This data has been valuable for optimizing revenues, transmission, and picture quality. We don't consider ourselves competitors with BARC, as they handle linear measurement for cable and satellite.”

“However, with news channels now available on digital platforms like OTT, smart TVs, mobile phones, and laptops, a significant portion of the audience consumes content digitally, which unfortunately is not captured by BARC. My mission is to make the digital industry more accountable and addressable in terms of viewership,” he added.

The guidelines though clearly mention that ‘ratings ought to be technology neutral and shall capture data across multiple viewing platforms viz. cable TV, direct-to-home(DTH), terrestrial TV etc; online platforms to be covered wherever feasible’.


MIB issues notice to unauthorised rating agency Chrome for violating guidelines

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday issued two advisories, one for private television channels and the other for digital news publishers and OTT platforms strongly advising them to refrain from showing advertisements of online betting sites and surrogate advertisements of such sites. 

The Ministry had earlier issued an Advisory on 13 June, 2022 advising newspapers, private TV channels and digital news publishers to refrain from publishing advertisements of online betting platforms.

The advisory  states that it has come to ministry's notice that some online offshore betting platforms have started using news websites as a surrogate product to advertise their betting platforms on TV channels. The government has asked the private satellite television channels to refrain from broadcasting advertisements of online offshore betting platforms and/or their surrogate new s websites or any such product/service depicting these platforms in a surrogate manner.

Contravention/violation of the above may invite penal action under the applicable laws.

Some of the platforms ads flagged by the government include FairPlay News, 1XBAT, FUNBB.NET, Betwaynet, and Wolf111 News.

The government highlighted that betting and gambling is prohibited in most parts of the country, and pose significant financial and socio-economic risk for the consumers, especially youth and children.

“Accordingly, the promotion of offline or online betting/gambling through advertisements is not advised in larger public interest,” the advisory notes.

In accordance with the Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it has been observed that since betting and gambling is illegal, advertisements of online offshore betting and gambling platforms are also illegal.

“In this regard, it may be noted that in accordance with the Advertising Code under Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995, advertisements of betting platforms, being an illegal activity, cannot be shown on TV channels,” it says.

The government also notes that the logos of surrogate news websites operated by the online betting platforms are strikingly similar to the betting platform. The concerned betting platforms, and the corresponding news websites, are also not registered with any legal authority under Indian laws. Accordingly, the online offshore betting platforms appear to be promoting betting and gambling under the garb of news as surrogate advertising which needs to be curbed.

The advisory further states that the Department of Consumer Affairs has also informed that online betting platforms have been advertising themselves as professional sports blogs, sports news websites, etc. while providing an indicative list of online betting platforms which are using news for surrogate advertising.

Govt warns digital publishers, channels and OTT platforms against online betting ads

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