YouTube is now ‘infrastructure for national ambition,’ says Gunjan Soni

New Delhi: YouTube India head Gunjan Soni has said the video platform is no longer just a distribution pipe but part of the country’s core digital infrastructure, as new numbers show its creator ecosystem contributing over Rs 16,000 crore to India’s GDP and supporting more than 9.3 lakh jobs.

In a blog post titled “How YouTube is fueling India’s next wave of growth, knowledge and culture,” Soni wrote that “today, YouTube is more than a platform: it has become the new infrastructure for national ambition,” framing the service as a stage for creators, a classroom for learners, and an engine for small businesses.

Citing a new Oxford Economics study, she said YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over Rs 16,000 crore to India’s GDP last year and supported more than 930,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the country. For nearly two-thirds of creators who earn on the platform, YouTube is now their primary source of income, the report found.

Soni described this as proof that “the Creator Nation” is now a meaningful part of India’s growth story, with economic benefits flowing beyond individual channels to local teams, studios and neighbourhood businesses that support them.

‘Creator Nation’ and India’s soft power

The post spotlights a range of Indian examples – from regional artists to educators and entrepreneurs – to underline how YouTube is being used for both reach and revenue.

Soni points to independent artists like Sanju Rathod finding global audiences, education channels like Adda Education preparing millions of students for competitive exams, and entrepreneurs such as Amit Sharma, who has scaled a single content idea into a studio operation with hired teams.

She also highlights YouTube’s role in India’s cultural projection abroad, citing creators such as rapper Hanumankind and yoga trainer Anita Bokepalli as examples of how music and wellness content from India travel to audiences from “Lucknow to Los Angeles.”

According to data shared in the post, 98% of users in India say they use YouTube to access information and learn new things, while 71% say the platform helps them preserve their own history and culture.
“YouTube is an engine for India’s shared growth, shared knowledge and shared culture,” Soni writes, arguing that the platform has become both a mass-learning destination and a soft power amplifier for local creators.

Rs 850-crore commitment to the creator economy

Looking ahead, YouTube has committed Rs 850 crore over the next two years to further fuel India’s creator economy, with Soni outlining four areas of focus: empowering creation, expanding monetisation, strengthening community and innovating responsibly.

On the creation side, she points to AI-led tools such as Edit with AI in the YouTube Create app, which can automatically stitch raw footage into a first draft with music, transitions and voice-overs in English or Hindi, including stylised options like cricket-style commentary and shayari.

YouTube is also pushing features like Auto Dubbing to help Indian creators take content to global audiences in multiple languages, part of a broader attempt to lower technical barriers to cross-border distribution.

On monetisation, Soni reiterated the company’s focus on expanding earning avenues beyond ads, including shopping affiliate programmes and more seamless tools for creators to work with brands.

Safety, AI labelling and likeness protection

A significant portion of the roadmap is devoted to responsible innovation and creator safety at a time when generative AI is reshaping online video.

Soni notes that YouTube will continue to use SynthID watermarks and clear content labels on AI-generated elements, so viewers can see when parts of a video have been created with AI.

In parallel, the platform is rolling out likeness detection tools in open beta for creators in the YouTube Partner Programme. The feature helps creators track where their facial likeness appears across YouTube, including in AI-altered clips, and request the removal of unauthorised or misleading videos.

Soni framed these measures as essential to maintaining trust as AI becomes more embedded in creation workflows: the goal, she writes, is to “deeply empower human creativity” while protecting both creators and viewers.

From GDP impact to long-term positioning

Soni’s blog post comes alongside YouTube’s India Impact Summit announcements on new AI tools, partnerships with institutions such as the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and AIIMS, and expanded health and well-being features for Indian users.

Taken together, the economic impact numbers, the Rs 850-crore investment, and the product roadmap position YouTube not only as an advertising and entertainment platform but also as a long-term infrastructure layer for India’s digital economy – spanning jobs, learning, culture, and commerce.

“The story of the creator in India is the story of India itself: ambitious, innovative and ready for the world,” Soni writes, adding that YouTube sees its role as partnering that ambition with technology, monetisation and safeguards at scale.