India’s Creative Economy Takes Centre Stage as Government, Industry and Global Leaders Converge in Delhi
Creative Economy Forum Season 4, themed “Rise of Creative Bharat,” to bring together policymakers, creative businesses and international institutions on September 18–19
New Delhi, September 2026: The Creative Economy Forum (CEF) – Season 4, themed “Rise of Creative Bharat,” will bring together policymakers, international institutions, creative businesses, entrepreneurs and cultural leaders for two days of conversations on the evolving business and economic potential of India’s creative industries.
The Forum will be held on 18–19 September 2026 at the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, and will explore the intersection of creativity, enterprise, technology, intellectual property, culture and global markets.
The two-day programme will examine key areas shaping India’s creative economy, including live entertainment, fashion, cultural infrastructure, public arts, creative IP, cultural diplomacy, AI, music technology, heritage, craft, media and the business of Indian entertainment.
The Forum will open on September 18 with the Inaugural Session and the release of the paper “Delhi as the Creative Capital of the World – Roadmap.” The session will feature Supriya Suri, Founder, Creative Economy Forum; Tim Curtis, Director & South Asia Head, UNESCO; Shri Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting; and Shri Kapil Mishra, Hon’ble Minister for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Government of NCT of Delhi, alongside other senior voices from government and the creative industries.
The first day will feature conversations on “Building Live Entertainment IP,” “The Show Must Grow: Building the Future of India’s Live Entertainment,” “Beyond the Metros: The Revolution in India’s Creative Ecosystem,” “Building the Next Global Fashion Capital in India,” “Building India’s Cultural Future with Public Arts, Institutions, Infrastructure & Capital,” and “Orange is the New Currency: Creative Capital Uniting Nations.”
The Forum will also feature international participation through H.E. Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil, and H.E. Mr. Anil Sooklal, Ambassador of South Africa, with discussions examining the role of creative industries in cultural diplomacy, international collaboration and global markets. The updated speaker list also includes H.E. Kamel Galal, Ambassador of Egypt to India, as part of the Forum’s international participation.
Day One will also spotlight emerging creative businesses, including PeekTV, represented by co-founders Priyanshi Sharma and Vedanta Aggarwal, and Madverse, represented by founder and CEO Rohan Nesho Jain. The programme will further examine cultural infrastructure and public arts, with speakers including Sana Rezwan, Saba Ali, Feroz Gujral and Vani Madhavi Avasarala.
Day Two will focus strongly on the next generation of India’s creative economy, with sessions on building and selling Indian creative IP to the world, India’s global cultural story, creative AI, human-AI collaboration, music technology, and the business behind successful and unsuccessful screen projects.
The programme will feature Jitendra Mishra, Sanjay Gupta of Raj Comics and Sidharth Jain of The Story Ink in a conversation on building and selling Indian creative IP to global markets. The session on India’s global cultural story will bring together Yeshwant Rao Holkar, Rajiv Arora and Karishma Swali.
The Forum’s creative technology and AI programming will feature Danish Devgn, Rahul Regulapati, Bejoy Arputharaj, CV Rao, Anurag Tiwari and Sourabh Pateriya, exploring the evolving relationship between technology, artificial intelligence and creative practice.
The Day Two programme will also examine “The Business Behind the Hits & Misses on Screen,” featuring Supriya Yarlagadda, Aparna Purohit and Rohit Dalmia, moderated by Rajeev Masand.
The Forum will culminate on the evening of September 19 with the Creative Global Voice of India Awards (CGVI). The awards will recognise outstanding creative businesses and institutions from across India and will be preceded by an exclusive Black-Tie Red-Carpet Reception. The awards will be presented by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Union Minister of Culture & Tourism.
Supriya Suri, Founder, Creative Economy Forum, said:
CEF Season 4 is about bringing together conversations across finance and technology, talent and IP, culture and international markets, and asking what India needs to build a truly globally competitive creative economy.
The Creative Economy Forum – Season 4 will be held on September 18–19, 2026, at the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, featuring knowledge sessions, exhibitions, networking, B2B meetings, roundtables and the CGVI Awards.
