Blitz Bureau
THE Global Media Dialogue 2025, held during WAVES 2025, was a landmark event with participation from 77 nations, underscoring India’s pivotal role in the global media and entertainment arena. The dialogue highlighted the power of international collaborations in fostering creativity while respecting cultural sensitivities.
The member nations collectively adopted the ‘WAVES Declaration’, emphasising the urgency of bridging the digital divide and leveraging media to promote global peace and harmony. The discussions underscored the profound role of films in uniting diverse cultures and the growing significance of individual stories in the creator economy, amplified by technological advancements.
Startups pitch ideas
WAVES Startup Accelerator selected 30 M&E start-ups to pitch their unique ideas directly to a battery of heavyweight investors like Lumikai, Jio, CABIL, WarmUp Ventures – among the 45 key angel investors on board. With over 1,000 registrations, the initiative germinated investment discussions worth Rs. 50 crore that are in pipeline.
Apart from this, over 100 startups exhibited their ideas and products to potential investors in the dedicated start-up pavilion. WAVEX as an initiative aimed to create a palpable investment ecosystem for startups to thrive and grow by forming an angel investor network specifically focused on media and entertainment sector. Startups from Tier-1 and Tier-2 shined at WAVEX and their founders took centre-stage.
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan unveiled five pivotal reports at the summit. These reports provide a comprehensive overview of India’s thriving media and entertainment ecosystem, covering key aspects like content production, policy frameworks, and live events.
The establishment of Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT), a national centre of excellence in Mumbai, was also formalised at the WAVES summit. Poised to be a milestone in capacity building for creative economy, the institute will be dedicated exclusively to the AVGC-XR sector. WAVES also witnessed the signing of strategic MoUs with industry associations to transform IICT as a world-class institution in the M&E Sector.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who ceremonially flagged off these strategic associations, emphasised India’s potential to become a global leader in media and entertainment, stating that IICT is on track to evolve into a premier institution in its field, much like how IITs and IIMs have become benchmarks in technology and management education.
Some companies who extended their hands for long-term collaborations are JioStar, Adobe, Google & YouTube, Meta, Wacom, Microsoft and NVIDIA.
CIC culmination
One of the standout highlights of WAVES 2025 was the grand culmination of the Create in India Challenge (CIC) Season 1, which drew nearly one lakh registrations from over 60 countries. Launched as a flagship initiative under WAVES, the CIC brought together creators across age, geography, and disciplines, spanning animation, XR, gaming, AI, filmmaking, digital music, and more.
From 32 imaginative and futureforward challenges emerged 750+ finalists, including 1,100+ international participants. These talented individuals showcased their work at Creatosphere, a dedicated innovation zone at WAVES. Beyond just a competition, the Create in India Challenge evolved into a movement celebrating diversity, youth energy, and storytelling rooted in both tradition and technology.
