WAVES 2025: India Sets the Stage for Global Cultural Exchange

The World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, inaugurated by PM Modi, aims to establish India as a global hub for media and entertainment. Over four days, the summit brings together thousands of delegates to explore India's rich storytelling tradition and potential for digital innovation.

Popular folk singer Malini Awasthi has praised the WAVES 2025 summit as a commendable initiative to advance Indian culture and tradition. In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Awasthi expressed her excitement, noting, "I am so happy for this new beginning, which should have started a long time back. Different stories are told in different parts of India, and it has saved the Indian culture." She applauded the government's substantial effort to spotlight Indian cinema on the global stage.

Awasthi also conveyed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the initiative, stating, "I congratulate PM Modi and the Ministry of Information Broadcasting and the Maharashtra Government." Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 on May 1 at the Jio World Convention Centre, marking the occasion as a significant moment for India's cultural and media industries.

Spanning four days, the summit is themed "Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries" and aims to position India as a world leader in media, entertainment, and digital innovation. During his address, PM Modi embraced India's rich narrative heritage, emphasizing, "India, with a billion-plus population, is also a land of a billion-plus stories and over a billion storytellers. Every street, every river, every mountain in India carries a tale." He encouraged the global creative community to explore India's cultural richness, advocating for "Create in India, and Create for the World."

WAVES 2025, the inaugural international summit in India focused on audio-visual and entertainment sectors, unites over 10,000 delegates, 1,000 creators, 300 companies, and 350 startups, thus fostering a robust cross-sectoral network. Encompassing film, OTT platforms, AVGC-XR, comics, AI, and broadcasting, the event covers the entire media spectrum and emerging technologies.

(With inputs from agencies.)