India's Strategic Push into the Orange Economy: A New Growth Engine
The Indian government has made a decisive and forward-looking commitment to nurturing the nation's "orange economy," a term that encapsulates economic activities fueled by creativity, culture, and intellectual property. This strategic focus was prominently highlighted in the recent Economic Survey and the Union Budget for 2026, which explicitly recognized this sector's immense potential to serve as a powerful engine for future economic growth and employment generation.
Budgetary Backing and Sectoral Definition
In a significant move, Budget 2026 has proposed a dedicated outlay of ₹250 crore specifically aimed at talent development within the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector. These industries are classic examples of orange economy activities. According to the Economic Survey, the core principle of the orange economy is that value addition stems not from the physical good or service itself, but from the overall consumption experience it provides. This paradigm shift from product to experience is reshaping consumer markets globally.
Based on this experiential definition, key sectors identified under India's orange economy umbrella include the broad Media and Entertainment industry and the rapidly evolving field of Experiential Tourism. Within media and entertainment, segments like gaming and live entertainment are noted for their particularly strong growth trajectories and their significant spillover effects into adjacent sectors such as tourism, transportation, and hospitality, positioning them as major future job creators.
The Live Entertainment Concert Economy
Live entertainment operates as a powerful economic multiplier, where larger audiences translate directly into greater economic impact. India possesses a unique demographic advantage to fuel this sector: it is home to the world's largest population of Millennials and Generation Z. This young demographic is not only vast but also demonstrates a strong willingness to spend substantial amounts on live experiences.
A prime example is the monumental success of Coldplay's 2025 concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which attracted over 400,000 fans from across the country. An EY report estimated the total economic impact of the Ahmedabad concert alone at approximately ₹641 crore, generated through ticket sales, travel, hotel accommodations, dining, shopping, and logistics support jobs. Perhaps more importantly, the event successfully rebranded Ahmedabad as a premier destination for major concerts.
However, to sustain and scale this "concert economy," India must develop world-class infrastructure in multiple cities. Currently, large events are often held in makeshift venues on public grounds, which frequently suffer from poor internet connectivity, limited public transport and parking, inadequate facilities, and chaotic crowd management. Learning from hubs like Singapore, which excels due to stable governance, efficient systems, and excellent urban infrastructure, is crucial. Failure to upgrade these foundational elements risks forfeiting the substantial multiplier benefits that live entertainment can deliver.
Unlocking the Potential of India's Gaming Market
India stands as one of the largest mobile gaming markets globally, with an estimated 400-500 million gamers, over 90% of whom play on mobile devices. The 2025 India Gaming Report reveals a distinctive profile: 43% of gamers are from Gen Z, 72% prefer vernacular content, and 66% reside in non-metro cities. This landscape presents three broad avenues for unlocking economic potential.
First, there is a massive growth opportunity in publishing high-quality games that forge a cultural and emotional connection with Indian audiences. Developers can tap into the nation's rich heritage of legends, historical narratives, and popular culture. Successful examples include Baahubali: The Game (based on the epic film), Unsung Empires: The Cholas 1 (gamifying Chola dynasty history), and FAU-G (themed on Indian military valor), each commanding a sizable user base.
Second, the high demand for vernacular content must evolve beyond simple translation to encompass truly localized content, settings, and narratives. This shift could catalyze the growth of game development centers and talent pools in non-metro cities, decentralizing the industry's growth.
Third, India's ecosystem of nearly half a million gaming influencers, who create content in multiple formats and languages, is a key asset. The budget's proposal to establish content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges could nurture fresh talent, creating a pipeline of creators who can collaborate with local developers to popularize games made specifically for Indian audiences.
The Rise of Experiential Tourism
In the orange economy, boundaries between different creative forms blur, merging to create unique, holistic consumption experiences. As comics, books, games, and films draw fluidly from one another, demand for skilled AVGC professionals is projected to surge, with government estimates suggesting the sector could create up to 2 million jobs by 2030.
A critical spillover from this creative convergence is the rise of "experiential tourism." This trend is driven by consumers' desire to physically experience elements from the games, comics, or films they love. A global example is the Korean phenomenon Squid Game, which inspired a mobile game and boosted tourism as fans visited filming locations to immerse themselves in the show's cultural milieu.
Experiential tourism moves beyond passive sightseeing to offer immersive, emotionally engaging experiences. India, with its wealth of ancient monuments, diverse water bodies, and unique ecological features, holds massive potential in this domain. Surveys indicate a growing traveler preference for holidays centered around events, adventure activities, and authentic local experiences.
Initiatives announced in the union budget, such as developing wildlife trails and Buddhist circuits, curating walkways along archaeological sites, and upskilling tourist guides through standardized high-quality training programs, are steps explicitly designed to facilitate and promote this experience-led tourism model.
A Timely and Essential Strategic Bet
India's strategic bet on the orange economy is both timely and essential. As consumer preferences globally shift increasingly towards seeking meaningful experiences over mere purchases, goods and services can no longer compete solely on traditional attributes like price, quality, or durability. The modern, young consumer seeks consumption choices that reflect their personal artistic expression and worldview.
The onus now lies on policymakers and corporations to actively supply and cultivate these experiential options. By investing in talent, infrastructure, and localized content, India is positioning itself to not only participate in but also lead significant segments of the global orange economy, transforming its creative and cultural capital into sustainable economic growth and employment.
