Did Budget 2026 just change India’s creator economy? One line has the industry talking

New Delhi: The Union Budget 2026–27 has given India’s creator economy one of its clearest policy signals yet, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing government support to set up AVGC Content Creator Labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Announcing the measure on Sunday, Sitharaman said India’s Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector is expanding rapidly and is projected to require two million professionals by 2030. “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 in her Budget speech.

The government has allocated Rs 4,551.94 crore to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the Union Budget, with a substantial amount marked for Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster, besides funds for talent development in animation, visual effects and gaming and support for the community radio movement. An allocation of Rs 250 crore has been made for talent development in the AVGC sector.

For influencer marketing and talent management players, the announcement is being seen as a shift from creator economy “conversation” to creator economy “capacity building.” IPLIX Media co-founder Jag Chima said the scale and structure of the proposed creator labs reflect the growing economic impact of creators in India, and underline the need to professionalise the pipeline, especially as brand spends on creators rise and regional markets drive growth.

Chima said, "The budget recognises what the market already shows. The creator economy is a serious economic engine right now, influencing hundreds of billions in annual consumer spending and supporting significant livelihoods. India’s creator ecosystem already contributes materially to GDP and jobs, and structured creator labs linked with AVGC institutes will accelerate that growth by building deeper capabilities and career pathways. This isn’t just talent development; it’s infrastructure for the future of work and digital economic growth, and positions India to lead globally in how modern creative economies scale." 

Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, KlugKlug, said the Budget “recognises the growing importance of the creator economy as part of India’s services-driven growth.” He called the establishment of labs “a landmark step towards building structured talent pipelines and formalising the digital content ecosystem,” adding that it can “nurture early-stage creators and help India emerge as a global hub for digital storytelling and creative exports.”

Kumar also linked the creator economy push to the broader regulatory environment for digital businesses. He said tax reforms supporting IT and digital services, including automated safe harbour approvals and the extended safe harbour threshold from Rs 300 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, create “a more predictable regulatory environment for digital platforms and influencer-driven businesses.” “We believe structured skilling initiatives combined with supportive regulatory frameworks will accelerate monetisation opportunities and professionalisation across India’s rapidly expanding creator economy,” he said.

From a platform partnership lens, Zaheer Travadi, Head of Brand Partnerships – CPG, TikTok Indonesia, said the Budget signals a long-term intent to formalise and scale creator-led marketing. He described the rollout of AVGC labs as “a transformative initiative” that introduces digital content creation as a mainstream career pathway, and said structured skilling will help creators adopt professional standards and global best practices.

Travadi also flagged the policy relevance for trust and compliance in the creator ecosystem. He said the government’s focus on AI-driven technologies and safe harbour provisions for IT and digital services could improve transparency, compliance clarity, and platform-creator collaboration. He added that continued investments in digital infrastructure and services-sector reforms can strengthen India’s position as an exporter of digital creativity and cultural content. As global brands look to India’s creator community for regional engagement, he said, policy support can help creators scale sustainably while ensuring consumer trust.

The creator labs announcement is also being read as a move to build creative infrastructure, not just skills. Deepankar Das, Co-Founder & CEO, ButtonShift, said, “The announcement of content creator labs is a significant step for India’s creative and digital economy.” He said setting up nearly 15,500 creator hubs at the grassroots level marks a shift from “merely discussing talent development to actively building it where it begins.” Das said with IICT leading the initiative, the focus moves towards creating long-term creative infrastructure, and the real impact will be the ability to develop original, globally competitive content rather than remain “largely a back-end execution hub.”

Das, however, pointed to a gap that creators and creator-tech companies still grapple with. “While we're building a huge talent pool with these labs, these creators are still going to face the massive costs of AI infra on their own. Hoping to see something in that space the next time,” he said.

For agencies and creator businesses, the Budget’s larger economic posture is also being tied to future ad spends. Sayak Mukherjee, Co-founder of Creatorcult, said the Budget reinforces “confidence-led growth rather than short-term consumption sops,” which he called structurally positive for the advertising and creator ecosystem. He said the emphasis on MSMEs, manufacturing, Tier 2 and Tier 3 infrastructure, tourism, and rural initiatives can gradually translate into higher domestic demand, adding that “marketing is always a downstream beneficiary of that confidence.”

Mukherjee said the technology signals, investments in technology, data centres, AI review, and semiconductor manufacturing, point to a more mature digital ecosystem. As more businesses formalise and scale, he expects a shift from episodic marketing spends to sustained brand-building and performance-led investments where influencer marketing plays a key role in trust and regional relevance. “Overall, while the Budget may not have offered direct incentives for creators, it sets the right foundation for long-term growth,” he said.

Deepak Chhabra, Founder of Jubliexx, said the Budget’s creator economy push is decisive and timely for platforms building interactive formats. “We welcome the Union Budget 2026–27 and its decisive focus on India’s creator economy,” he said. 

Chhabra called the creator labs announcement “a landmark step in institutionalising digital creativity,” and said India already has 35–45 lakh active content creators and a broader ecosystem of over 100 million participants. He said the initiative will build a skilled, future-ready talent pool and support platforms like Jubliexx in scaling interactive, live-led content, strengthening India’s position in the global digital entertainment economy.

For luxury and creator-commerce players, Ajay Kulkarni, Business Head, Ykone Barcode, said the timing of the Budget itself sets a different tone for brands. “A Sunday Budget doesn’t just change the calendar, it changes the tone,” he said, adding that it gives brands space to plan and focus on storytelling that connects. 

He said the creator labs and structured creative skills programmes across thousands of schools and hundreds of colleges are a clear signal of India moving from “a content culture to a content economy,” creating long-term value for brands, creators and consumers.

ShareChat and Moj CEO and Co-founder Ankush Sachdeva linked the labs to creator-led influence on consumption. He said India’s creator economy influences over 30% of consumer purchase decisions and nearly $350–400 billion in consumer spending. 

With the next billion users emerging from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, Sachdeva said ShareChat has seen how culturally rooted storytelling formats drive deeper engagement and influence consumption at scale. He said formal training in animation, visual storytelling and short-form content creation will help creators build sustainable careers and improve content quality, unlocking the next phase of creator-led commerce as creator-influenced spend moves towards $1 trillion by 2030.

Atul Hegde, Founder & MD, YAAP, said the AVGC move reflects a deeper understanding of how India’s youth learn and participate in the digital economy. He said by proposing content creator labs across schools and colleges, the government is recognising content creation, visual storytelling and interactive media as mainstream career pathways rather than a side hustle. 

Hegde said early exposure to structured tools, mentorship and digital infrastructure can convert informal passion into employable skills and sustainable careers, while bridging the gap between education and real-world digital behaviour.

Pratik Shinde, Co-founder & COO, BlueRays Mediaverse, said the Budget’s explicit focus on the Orange Economy and content labs is a landmark validation for the creative sector. He argued the signal for brands is to treat content as IP, not a temporary marketing cost. “We are moving into an era where a brand's ‘Owned Media’, its podcasts, shows, and educational content, will be as valuable as its physical assets,” he said, adding that businesses that win in 2026 will be the ones that stop renting attention and build their own media infrastructure.

With creator skilling being pushed to the grassroots, agencies and platforms expect a larger pool of trained creators, a more professionalised ecosystem, and faster growth in creator-led commerce, especially as Bharat’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets become the next engine for both consumption and content.