New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a major push for India’s fast-growing creative industries, often called the “orange economy” positioning it as a key driver of jobs, startups and future-ready skills.

Presenting the Union Budget 2026–27, Sitharaman said India’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector alone is projected to need 2 million professionals by 2030, reflecting the explosive growth of digital entertainment, content creation and immersive technologies.

“I propose to support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges,” she said, calling it a major step toward building India’s next-generation creator workforce.

What is the orange economy and why it matters?

The orange economy refers to industries that generate value from creativity, culture and intellectual property — including animation, gaming, film, music, design, media, fashion, publishing and live entertainment. Unlike traditional sectors, it thrives on ideas, storytelling and digital innovation, making it one of the fastest-growing employment engines globally.

India’s Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighted that creativity-led sectors can become major contributors to urban jobs, tourism, services exports and entrepreneurship, especially among young people. It also pointed to the rising “concert economy”, which has the potential to transform cities into global cultural hubs — provided challenges such as venue shortages and regulatory bottlenecks are addressed.

In another boost to the creative ecosystem, Sitharaman announced the establishment of a new National Institute of Design (NID) in eastern India. While India’s design industry is expanding rapidly, she noted that the country faces a shortage of trained designers — a gap the new institute aims to fill.

With digital consumption soaring and global demand for creative content rising, the government’s focus on the orange economy signals a strategic shift, from factories and finance to films, gaming, design and digital storytelling, positioning creativity as India’s next big growth engine.