YouTube's Rs 850 Crore Boost to India's Creator Economy

YouTube plans to invest Rs 850 crore over the next two years to enhance India's creator economy. CEO Neal Mohan highlighted India's emergence as a creator nation, supported by significant financial contributions. The announcements were made at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit 2025 inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in Mumbai.

Google-owned YouTube is set to invest Rs 850 crore over the next two years to further propel India's rapidly growing creator economy. The announcement was made by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan during the inaugural World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 in Mumbai on Thursday.

In his keynote speech, Mohan revealed that YouTube has paid Rs 21,000 crore to Indian creators, artists, and media companies over the past three years. He underscored India's status as a 'creator nation,' citing over 100 million active channels and over 15,000 surpassing the one million subscriber benchmark.

Mohan emphasized YouTube's role in helping creators turn passions into profitable businesses while building global audiences. Last year, Indian content amassed 45 billion hours of international watch time, illustrating YouTube's effectiveness as a cultural export platform.

Mohan stated, "YouTube connects creators globally, and India has leveraged this effectively. It is becoming a 'Creator Nation'." Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the WAVES 2025 Summit at Mumbai's Jio World Centre, focusing on the Orange economy's pillars: content, creativity, and culture.

Highlighting India's potential, Modi declared that the time is ripe for content creation targeting both domestic and international audiences. The four-day summit, themed 'Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries,' seeks to position India as a major media, entertainment, and digital innovation hub, gathering creators, startups, and industry leaders globally.

(With inputs from agencies.)